DNKNA - Torn Identity
by peekodemeeko12
Summary: Avery Fernandez, an ex MMA boxer is thrown into Wonderland with her brother's police dogs. How will Avery fare among the crazed lunatics known as the Role Holders in Diamond Country? AveryXJericho
1. Chapter 1

THIS IS IMPORTANT, READ IT!

Okay, so I may be deleting the other story starring Avery in it and instead move her to DNKNA because I think she has more potential there than Heart Country and I want to explore Diamond Country a little more.

What are your thoughts on this? Also, this first chapter may seem familiar because it's based off of the beginning for the other series. But don't worry, I'm an amazing writer and will make Avery soar no matter where I put her ;)

‡

My eyes numbly look through the large paneled window, watching muscles contort in amazing ways. The ring in the center of the gym catch most of my attention as the men wail on each other. One bounces from foot to foot and makes quick punches but the other hardly moves, a classic mistake. That's no good, man. You've got to _move_ in this game. If you stand still doing nothing then you're going to get hurt. Footwork is _everything_.

The man coils back with a thickly padded gloved hand before whipping forward, aiming to knock the guy out. I instinctively shift to the left, anxiously watching as the trainee takes a punch directly to the chin. Ooh~ he's down. No doubt about it. I breathe out a soft smile, wishing more than anything to be inside training with them. The uniform under my clothes seems to constrict a little, encouraging me to go inside and do what I do best but lingering memories hold me back.

I can't go in because I'm a girl.

Jaiden gently licks my hand, urging me to continue walking the retired police canine. My brother's lucky that I'm around most of the time to take care of his police dogs. He's working on a newer pup now. A police officer, a lawyer, a karate instructor, an MMA cage fighter, and a security guard at a high end prison basically explains my older brothers in a nutshell. With our parents gone on trips with my father my brothers basically raised me.

My forehead gently thumps against the window. And I blame them for my 'unfeminine' self. I glance off to the side within the building and spy a man look over to the window in response, jumping slightly as he has to inch his head up before finally meeting my bright blue eyed gaze. I should go. I don't want to cause a scene.

I pull away from the window and give Jaiden's leash a gentle tug. The older German Sheppard happily follows along with me and stays close by my heels with his tongue lolling out of his mouth with pure bliss. Awe so cute~ too bad he's starting to go senile.

My brother's most recently retired police dog, Jett, remains tense and alert to every little thing around him as I make sure to stay between the two dogs. The Doberman Pinscher retired only a week ago because of a bullet injury which nearly killed him. He's still recovering but now it's only up to time for it to heal. I chuckle at his upraised ears as he remains alert and vigilant, his old training still sharp compared to Jaiden's.

My cheek twitches into a smile as I rub Jaiden's head, earning an eager nip from the older dog to my other hand. His teeth barely graze my skin, gently holding my hand in his jaws unless otherwise ordered to. He seems perfectly healthy now though he's near deaf in one ear because of the bullet and has a tendency to wander every now and then.

My eyes soften as I adjust my glasses, making sure not to push too hard or else I will accidentally bend the weak metal. They are a perfectly good pair of girlish looking glasses. Girls with glasses are more 'girly', right? Or, at least it's a sign that they are girly? The whipping Chicago winds tear through the city, ruffling my slowly growing hair. I reach up, readjusting the soft threads which are now, thankfully, down to my cheek. Normal girls have long hair so if I have long hair then I ... maybe I can at least act my gender.

I heavily sigh, feeling myself start to sink into another little boat of depression. I need to act more girlie. I have to. No one ... sees me as a woman so it's just so lonely. Gentle tapping against my ankle reminds me of the octopus anklet my oldest brother gave to me. The chain is genuine stainless steel and painted to look like gold with eight little octopus figurines attached to the chains. I used to love octopuses so much when I was younger. I thought that with more arms I would be able to punch better like my brother in the cage. But something cuter would be more suitable, wouldn't it? Like a bunny or something. Oh, or a lizard! No, no that's a reptile. Those aren't considered 'cute' by most people.

My eyes numbly stare over the bobbing heads of people, only seeing a person here or there who can look me straight on in the eyes. I keep my eyes down to watch where I'm going, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest as I bump into someone who's up to my shoulder in height. An embarrassed flush immediately slaps across my face as horror envelops me.

"S-S-Sorry! So sorry!" I instinctively shout, flickering my frightened eyes over the older man to make sure I didn't hurt him. What if I knocked him over by mistake? What if I hurt his arm? Dozens of guilty thoughts fly through my head as the man looks over with narrowed eyes, puzzled at first before looking up at my red face.

He slightly sneers, obviously irked about getting bumped into before gruffly walking away. I let out a relieved sigh, thankful he kept on walking without deciding to make a bigger deal out of me bumping into him. Normally people let out a few cuss words or a shove back.

Jett lets out a rather aggressive bark, nearly making my heart pop in fright as he charges after what he considered to be an attacker. The man bulks and jumps slightly, startled obviously as he quickly tries to stumble away from the dogs. No, no don't! I roughly yank back on the leash, holding Jett back from attacking as the action excited Jaiden into a barking frenzy towards a nearby light pole.

"N-No, quiet-! U-Um, ah, uh, Seien Sie still!" I frantically order, watching Jett dance on his paws, making a small tight circle before obediently standing by my heels along with Jaiden. I look up, about to apologize to the man but he is already long gone and everyone's eyes on me.

O-Oh gosh ... s-scary~! My heart races as I quickly walk on, my fingers trembling from the judgmental glares of everyone around me. Jaiden and Jett happily paw along with me, obviously excited and now looking for something else to bark at. My heart trembles as I start to feel crushing anxiety and everyone's eyes burning holes through me.

I'm too tall.

My family is scary.

I'm too aggressive.

My hobbies are weird.

I'm too self conscious.

My hair is too short.

I ... I'm just too _much_.

My eyes glue to the ground as I slow to a stop, letting the people pass by the tall obstacle in their way. Why couldn't I have been born shorter? Being 6 ft is a monstrosity. No guy wants a girl taller than they are, let alone someone who's grown up around five older brothers. I used to love being so tall because I can more readily reach stuff. I never found anything wrong with it until-

Jett suddenly starts madly barking, catching my attention before I jerk on the leash.

"S-Sei-,"

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

My head snaps up, finding myself in the middle of a crosswalk and an oncoming truck screeching it's tires. My lips part with a silent scream as I put my arms up as a last defense, hearing a thunderous crash before complete silence. My eyes crack open, spying a strange boy in front of me with a large blade buried into the truck's engine that completely crushed the hood of the truck. Oh my-!

I tremble, speechless as my heart begins to race. H-How do I react in a situation like this?! I-I-I should run and scream bu-but the danger isn't here anymore. Jett starts to aggressively growl and snarl before Jaiden joins in, their hard ingrained police training taking over. N-No, don't growl! Don't growl at the scary man, you might piss him off!

"S- Seien Sie! Seien Sie!" I frantically cry, making their growls lower in pitch. I-I need to calm down because they are reacting to me getting panicked. I take a step back as the man stands up and turns around with a cheerful grin. Seeing the long broad blade in his hand makes a shiver shoots down my spine. W-What in the world ... ?

"Aren't you tired reliving this?" The brunette boy, a good foot shorter than me, asks with a frightening smile. A panicked flush slaps across my face as my legs tremble with indecision. W-What do I do? Jett lets out a bark and snarl as I pull back on the leash, holding him back due to the harness and choker around his throat.

"R-Reliving what?" I stutter as I glance to either side, spying the streets entirely clear of people and all other cars. H-How ... where did everyone go? Darn it, I knew I should have run when I had the chance! The boy's face falls into a poker face before widely grinning.

"You're dea-," he starts before he freezes in mid sentence. My heart races as my eyes flicker over him. W-What just happened? He just ... just stopped moving. I nervously gulp and take a hesitant step forward, thrown for a loop as to what just happened.

"Um ... excuse me? L-Little boy, what's wrong?" I call out, waving a hand in front of his face. He's not moving at all. The two dogs growl and dance by my sides, eagerly awaiting a command as I try to figure out what happened to the man wielding the blade. A-And the truck ... how did he break it like that with one swing? I-

"O-Oh my goodness-!" I cry in fright, dancing back as he turns into grains of sand and fade into nothing. Sharp barks ring out as their tails wag, sniffing the air for any signs of him. W-Where did he go?! My heart races as I look to either side before making a tight circle, finding the streets entirely clear of life.

"H-Hello?" I call, hearing my voice echo down the empty streets and tall buildings. This is ... freaky. No, this must be a dream. Yeah, that's it. Jaiden happily looks around with his tongue lolling out as Jett remains by my heels panting, searching for whatever is causing me distress. My wandering gaze finally settles on a small black rabbit standing on its feet, wearing a daisy tie.

... I am _so_ confused. Why is there a rabbit dressed like this in the middle of a city?

"Hey, why aren't you following me? You're supposed to play along with the game." It says, hopping forward a little bit. Both dogs fixate their beady eyes on the approaching bunny. Their growls stop, not at all intimidated or taking the rabbit as a threat but find it interesting enough to look at. Jaiden trots towards it, sniffing the ground near the bunny's feet.

" ... it's talking why is it talking." I flatly state, unable to say anything else in response. I ... this, this is a dream. It has to be. How should I react to this? Would a normal girl walk or gush about how cute it is? I ... well, bunnies are cute but I lean more towards dogs or something with teeth.

"Don't speak so rudely to me." The bunny huffs before hopping up to my feet. It leans forward, pawing at my shin in a reprimanding manner.

"Hurry up. If you don't come to Diamond soon," it starts before stopping short and looking away. Without warning a large plume of black smoke suddenly appears, revealing a man with black hair and low sweeping black ears. His eyes narrow as he looks up to me, locking his mismatched eyes onto me.

... uh ...

"Hurry along, I have not the patience to be sluggish." He states, reaching around my waist and pulling me along with him. My mind falls blank as he looks back to me, staring hard into her eyes with a stern and commanding look, "Peter is not the only one who can bring a foreigner to Wonderland."

"EEEEEEKKKKKK!" I scream before impulsively whipping my fist forward and punching the bunny man thing in the throat.

"HIERRRRRR!" I shout as I turn to run, ordering the dogs to follow me so they don't attack the already injured bunny man thing. He stumbles back and grasps at his throat, eyes wide with surprise and fury. This isn't real, this isn't real! Talking b-bunnies turning into a man rabbit thing, not real, not real-! I feel the panic attack start to come on as both dogs eagerly run after me and keep pace, excited about the fun run while I'm terrified out of my mind.

_"Hey, did you know?"_

Home, home I need to get home-!

_"Games always have rules."_

I huff and puff as I use my long legs to dart through the streets, daringly taking a few sharp turns into some sketchy allies. Jett and Jaiden easily keep pace, leaping over some crates as I turn back into the street.

_"It's decided from the beginning ... ,"_

B-Beginning? Beginning of what? I look over my shoulder, searching for whoever was speaking. My heart stutters as I watch pieces of the buildings begin to float into the air like tiny specks, disintegrating right before my eyes. No, no why is everything disappearing?!

_"You knew that, right?"_ The moment my foot lands I fly forward, reaching out to catch something as the rabbit man's hand catches mine and drops with me.

"Hit me again and I will place a bullet between your eyes, woman." He growls, tightening his grip painfully around my wrist as we drop down the hole. Jaiden and Jett let out sharp yelps as they drop into oblivion, vanishing out of sight and into the darkness.

"N-No, Jaiden, Jett-!" No, no don't leave me-! Terror wells up in my eyes in the form of frightened tears, letting out a gut wrenching scream. Where am I going? Where, where, why-

_Why_?

My eyes pop open as I feel a burst of energy from left over adrenaline shoot through my body. Without hesitation I jump up to my feet, looking around the trees and forest all around me. O-O-Oh, my goodness ... where am I? My heart pounds hard as I look all around, trying to find either of my dogs.

"J-Jaiden? Jett? H-Hierr!" I loudly command, breathing hard as I search the woods for them. Oh no my brother is going to be so depressed if anything happens to them! I start to feel sick to my stomach in worry. They may be smart dogs but they aren't cut out to be running around in the wild. The streets of Chicago yeah but not a straight up _forest_!

"Do not scream so loudly!" A voice orders. A frightened shiver runs up my spine as I whip around, spying the man with bunny ears. He sits up, rubbing is ears with a clearly pained and annoyed expression.

"W-Who W-W-Wha-?" I stutter. How would a normal girl react in this situation? Frightened, definitely frightened. "Who ar-are you?" I tremble, my fingers shaking. I need to go find Jaiden and Jett. They could be hurt for all I know!

"Can you speak without stuttering?" He snaps, looking aggravated as he gets to his feet and brushes himself off.

"Y-Yes?" I say, "who are you?" More like where the hell you live so my older brother can book your sorry - oops, girls don't think bad words, right?

"I am the black rabbit, Sidney Black, and Prime Minister of Diamond Castle." He callously says before glancing into the woods and studying the spot. The moment his eyes are off of me I take off into the woods, using my long legs to my advantage. I need to get away from him. My heart stutters as he lunges to my right with an angry frown.

"I am beginning to think you wish for your legs to be shot off." He threatens.

"G-Get away from me-!" I cry, feeling my face heating up with fright. Who is he and why is he following me?!

"Enough running!" He snaps as he hops in front of me. I lean back in an attempt to get away from him but he whips forward with his hand reaching for my neck. My eyes flash before dipping down and to his legs. I grit my teeth as my muscles strain, picking the surprisingly light man right off his feet before throwing him right other my shoulder. The man's arms shoot out and catch himself before he rolls back, glaring at me and reaching into his jacket. I freeze, my heart stuttering with horror.

"I-I'M SO SORRY!" I nearly shout, covering my mouth from the accidental throw. I-I hadn't meant to hurt him, I swear-!

"Apologies will not get you far with me," he bluntly states before I reach forward, cupping his jaws in my hands and frantically look him over.

"Is your neck alright? I'm so, sorry! So ... so, sorry." I breathe, feeling tears well up in my eyes. I don't mean to hurt anyone. I'm not a monster, h-he startled me and I panicked and-!

"Enough of your pathetic tears. Crying for your life won't get you anywhere." He sourly snaps.

"B-B-But I could have hurt you. I-I didn't mean it, I promise-!" I bite it off at the end. His eyes narrow before reaching forward, flicking my forehead harder than I expected. "Ow!" I whine, leaning back and clasping the injury.

"I am not so fragile that I will break over something of that sort." He scolds before slipping a hand into his pocket. He blinks, looking troubled before patting all of his pockets. "T-The Potion of Hearts, where is it?!" He demands, standing up to his feet as he tries to find it.

"P-Potion of Hearts?" I ask. I've never heard the term 'potion' used before besides in video games.

"That rotten Nightmare, he must have something to do with this." He angrily grumbles. He snatches my wrist, dragging me along with him into the woods. Wait, wait let go-! "Come with me. I need to be a proper escort and give you the potion."

"W-Wait, I need to find my dogs Jaiden and Jett first." I say, looking around before shouting, "Hierr!" I intently listen to the forest around me, unable to hear them tromping through the bushes after me. Wait, shouldn't I be more concerned with where he's trying to take me?

"Forget those mongrels. I have more important matters to attend to and they will not wait." He haughtily huffs, making my heart jerk. W-What? So, because it's inconvenient to him I can't go and get my dogs?

"B-But they are my brother's!" I say, frantic. I feel ... insulted. How would a regular girl react to this?

"Come along, woman. It is more important that you get the Potion of Hearts." He says, tightening his grip on my wrist.

"N-No, let go of me-!" I shout, not wanting to hurt him. Please, please let go so I don't have to hurt you!

"Behave, Avery. I will not stand for mockery of my will to fetch you-," he starts before I tightly grip his wrist in return and step in towards him. His eyes flash before my elbow whips around and clocks him in the side of the head. I tightly wrap my arm around the back of his neck before driving my knee up right into his gut as hard as I can. I can't stay here. I need to go and find my dogs.

He lets out a pained grunt and lets go of my wrist, trying to pull his head back from the poor excuse of a muay thai clinch. My other arm whips around and aims for his head but his arm shoots up and knocks my arm off course. He crouches down before grabbing my legs and lifting me right off the ground and over his shoulder.

"_I said let go_!" I scream, glaring at the back of his head as his ear twitches.

"That is enough you, wretch. I have matters to attend to - AH!" He cries in pain as I grab his ear and crush it in my fist. I will _not_ go down without fighting to my last breath. His knees buckle because of the searing pain, dropping to the ground as he clutched his ear. I roll off and onto my legs before taking off into the woods.

"S-So sorry-!" I cry, biting back tears at having to really hurt the man. Who knows, I could have broken something. B-But I need to find my dogs.

That is my first priority.

‡

So there you have it, another OC, Avery Fernandes and 6'2. I decided to place her in Diamond Country because I feel she has more potential there than Heart Country. I am debating on whether or not to delete the other story and move components of that story into this one, with adjustments of course. I feel I rushed into the other story too quickly without thinking of a plot, and here in Diamond I have more of a plot in mind. **_10 REVIEWS_** and your opinions for the next chapter~


	2. Chapter 2

I quickly trot through the forest, unable to find a path that could lead anywhere. I've been walking aimlessly for hours now. What in the world am I going to do? My eyes scan the forest, calling for Jaiden and Jett but trying to be quiet. They will be able to follow my scent if they are near but I can't sit around and hope they come across it. I don't want that rabbit man thing finding me at all. I-If he comes at me like that again I might actually hurt him.

"Oh, there you are!" A cheerful voice cries. I whip around and take a step back, staring at the red eyed brunette in soldier like attire hop out of the woods and into the small clearing I am in.

"Y-You-!" I stammer, retreating a step, "how are you alive? I saw you disintegrate in front of me!" I cry, too frightened to think anything else. He looks at me with a puzzled smile, giving a light shrug.

"I don't remember. But, I _was_ able to get away with this," he cheekily grins, happily presenting a slender little vial with a heart stopper.

"W-What is it?" I stutter, watching as he takes the top off and slips it into a pocket.

"It's the Potion of Hearts. I have no idea how I got it but since I do, that means Mr. Sidney doesn't have it. I wonder if I stole it from him?" He asks more so to himself before laughing in a carefree way. "Oh well! Either way, the foreigner gets to play the game now~," he starts towards me with a confident grin, placing his thumb over the top of the vial to keep liquid from spilling out.

"Eek! No, no don't come any closer! I-I-I'm warning you-!" I shout, about to get into my fighting stance before tears of a small girl floods her mind. N-No, I didn't mean to hurt her. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. She came at me like a wildcat and there was nothing I could do but defend myself. The boy cheerfully smiles as he drinks down the potion. W-Why did he-

I bulk as the boy hooks his fingers around my head and pulls me down to connect our lips. W-Wait, how should I react to this?! Normally I would hurt him b-b-but what would a girl do? And to top it off he's just a kid! All thoughts freeze as I feel something warm slide between my lips, a sickly mixture of sour and bitter liquid flow between my teeth.

"YEEEEEEEEEKKKK!" I screech into the contact, punching him right in the throat. He jerks back, startled as I cough out the awful drink. Ew ... I s-swallowed some.

"Ow~ that's not fair! You need to drink it all~ down." He smiles, presenting the same vial with only a few drops missing. My hand flies to my chest, gripping the suddenly dry material. H-How did that happen? I thought it spilled onto my shirt. "Now be a good foreigner and-,"

"NOOOOOOOOO!" I scream, taking off into the woods. He won't be able to catch up to me running. I know he won't. My heart races with fright as I hear him barreling through the woods after me.

"Wow you're fast~!"

"STOP FOLLOWING MEEE~!"

BLOOD'S POV

My, how awfully boring these faceless are. Dusk shifts to Night rather quickly as we carry out our business of exterminating some bold rats who thought they could steal information from me without consequence. I'll bet these men are working for Bermuda in an attempt to undermine me.

One by one they fall under the power of the firepower of my gun. Can't anything interesting or exciting happen? If it is simply a sign or a hint of something interesting then I will accept it. I glance to the side, noticing another faceless trying the same boring tactic. So pathetic, armed with a bat and he's trying to get to me? Heh, I'm tempted to let him get close so I can actually have some fun.

I turn my back to him and pretend to survey the massacre of faceless, intently listening as he slowly approaches before running at me. My eyes flash as I whip around, spying a streak of black leap into the air and sink it's teeth into the man's arm holding the bat.

"AAAAAHHHHH-!" The man screams as the Doberman viciously tears into the man's arm, vigorously shaking back and forth as though to rip it off entirely. Oh ho~ what is this? A rabid dog? No, it has a collar and harness on it. I watch, rather pleased as the dog rips the man off his feet and to the ground, it's jaws never loosening from the man's forearm.

"C-Call it off! Call off your dog-!" The man pleads, punching the dog's head with his fists in a desperate attempt to get free. The Doberman snarls and yanks it's head back, tearing away a decent amount of the man's flesh. He takes the opportunity to get up and run but the wild hound is right after him, sinking it's teeth into the man's thigh and bringing him down once more. I look to either side, searching for who it's owner could be. This dog has been trained. I can tell by the persistence in its attacks and ferocity thereof. Unless, of course, it is simply rabid.

"EEEEEEEKKK!" The man screeches, punching the Doberman's chest repeatedly as it climbs on top and bites the man's neck. In for kill, is it? I watch as the man grabs the dog's jaws but it already has a firm grasp on his windpipe before ripping the man's throat out. The faceless wildly rasps for air as the dog climbs off and circles him, madly barking and snarling until the faceless stops moving. What an interesting dog. The barrel of my gun aims at its head if it decides to attack me as well. That faceless was exceptionally weak to be taken down by a dog ... with _eyes_?

The dog shakes itself out after realizing the man is no longer a threat, trotting over towards me and circles around my legs before obediently standing by my side. He sniffs the air, as though asking for praise for his work well done. I study the hound for a few moments before shifting my gun into my cane and crouching down so I can look at its tags and harness. Police? Who Police? The tags balance on my palm as I look over the name. So Jett is the dog's name. Avery Fernandez, the name of the owner ... how thrilling! A dog with eyes ... perhaps, is there a chance this dog is a foreigner? My cheek twitches into a smile.

Which means there must be a young man walking around with a beating heart.

"M-Master Blood, are you alright?" A servant asks, a little out of breath and scraped up from being ambushed.

"I am perfectly fine. Rather, I am _much_ better than I was before." I answer before heading down the alley where I could hear Elliot's shooting frenzy. A light jingling catches my attention as I glance down, spying the hound walking right beside me without a leash. Very, very well trained. I'm getting more and more interested as to who this Avery sir is.

"Elliot, leave the small fry. I want you to find someone _much_ more entertaining."

JERICHO'S POV

I gently thump my fist against my lower back, letting out a pained sigh. I need to go see a chiropractor soon or something. All this digging is beginning to wear me down. I glance over to some fellow workers, noticing their concerned looks.

"How about you go rest, Don? We can take care of the rest." One grins as he jut his thumb towards the Art Museum.

"No. I still have a role to perform. I'll be fine," I reassure, continuing to dig a deeper hole. My eyes roll towards the gates, spying a gravedigger breathing hard from running make it through the gate. There's the scout I stationed near the tea shop Blood likes. He supports himself on his knees, catching his breath before presumably looking around for me.

"I'm right here. What have you found?" I call out, letting out a small grunt as I hop out of the hole. Ugh, curse this back of mine! My face remains neutral as I stand up and head towards the clearly breathless faceless. The smell of burned wood and fire needle the rims of my nose, coming from the gravedigger's uniform. That doesn't smell good. "What happened?"

"D-Dupre happened." He breathes, hoarsely coughing to clear his throat. A few other gravediggers listen in, curious to know what has become of their comrades.

"And?"

"He burned down the shop. Killed the owner and a patron but I and the rest got out alright. I was almost buried under rubble myself but a faceless pulled me free. I doubt he realized I was a Bermuda, though." He says, running a hand through his hair as he visibly calms himself down again.

"That's unfortunate. I was hoping to make it out a little longer with that shop but we've learned what we needed to, haven't we?" I ask, trying to get some answers out of the man. I should let him rest but I want a general outline of what happened.

"Y-Y-Yes, mostly. Not sure of the time precociously, but he's most assuredly is p-planning an attack on the Train Station soon." He huffs.

"Thank you for your service. Go get some rest. You've earned it." I encourage, patting his shoulder. He looks like he's had a long day.

"Yes, Bermuda." He agrees with a relieved smile, limping towards the entrance. That doesn't look too good. Before I can give the word a gravedigger walked up to him, letting him drape and arm over his shoulder and helped to walk him to his apartment nearby. I smile at the gravedigger who went and helped without being told to. That's what a real subordinate is. I turn back towards the grave I'm digging, pausing as I spy nearly the hole loosely filled to the brim with dirt.

"Alright who's jerking my chain?" I ask aloud with a small smile but an annoyed breath. At least the ground is loosely placed rather than packed in but who in the world did this? A nearby gravedigger looks up from the hole he's digging and spies what has been done to mine.

"Whoa. I didn't hear anyone." He notes, sounding troubled. Hm, right. He was probably the one that filled it in. I look around, watching the gravediggers and trying to see who is the one adverting his eyes from me. Alright who's punking me?

"Whoa, whoa HEY! A**HOLE! You're flinging dirt into my grave!" The worker angrily accuses before falling silent. I look back, spying the back end of a dog as he makes one last powerful dig. He shoves nearly his entire face into the pile of dirt, audibly inhaling the smells as his tail wildly wagged back and forth. A stray dog? Or maybe one that got loose from his owner due to the harness on him.

"Well, now we know who the culprit is." I breathe out a small chuckle, rather enjoying the presence of the dog. Not too many animals can sneak in here without getting noticed like that. I'm impressed. The German Sheppard pops his out of the hole, shaking himself out and flinging dirt everywhere. The gravedigger turns away, trying to rub out what got in his eyes.

"Geh. I was never a dog kind of guy." He complains, hopping out of the hole to avoid any more dirt pieces being flung into his eyes.

"It's a nice change though." I chuckle, walking up to the dog. The dog happily pants with his tongue lolling out of his jaws, snapping to attention as something in the wheel burrow catches his attention. He hops right past me, snatching up a bright blue ball from the things and happily squeaks away on the loud dog toy.

"Hey-!"

"Let him enjoy it. He's not causing harm to anyone." I laugh, getting back to digging but keep an eye on him. The dog playfully growls, madly shaking his head and hopping around the graveyard. He pops the toy into the air and catches it in his jaws, swinging his head back as he hops along right into a tombstone. He stumbles back, shaking off the hit and happily trots back in our direction. He comes right up to me with little hesitation, setting the ball down and expectantly looks at me.

"What, you want to play?" I smile, crouching down and taking the ball. The dog excitedly prances in place, his tail wagging as he excitedly waits for it. I crank my arm back and throw the ball far watching the dog take off after it. With a quick jump he spins in the air, catching the ball and neatly landing on his feet.

Whew~ I'm impressed with his flexibility. He looks pretty old for a dog and has an experienced eye. The dog happily runs back, running right past me and practically tackling over a large pile of loose dirt. He happily rolls around in it, the ball entirely forgotten and on the ground.

"Hey, hey you're going to cause trouble for your owner getting all dirty like that." I laugh, setting my shovel down entirely as I walk over to him. He flips to his stomach, eyes suddenly tense as he eyes the ball between us. I pause, crouching down a little and match his gaze evenly. Without warning he flings himself into the air and narrowly tackles into me as I grab the ball and move to the side, watching him roll into the partial hole I dug. He pops back up, happily shaking himself out before pacing within the self made cage in small, happy circles. I'm starting to wonder if there's something not quite right with this dog.

"Ah~ what a distraction." A gravedigger asks. I look up, noticing just about every gravedigger in the vicinity is watching my interaction with the dog.

"Is something the matter?"

"Not too many things can distract Don from his work and a dog has to not only get you out of the hole but stop working entirely." One observes, sounding somewhat happy from the find.

"Ha ha, that he did." I chuckle, somewhat sheepish for getting distracted so easily. I couldn't help it. There is something different with this dog that got my attention. I look back over to the dog, watching his hunched over figure as he tries to dig the hole deeper but most of the dirt just builds up on the walls.

"Alright, that's enough of you. Return to your owner." I say, reaching into the hole and grabbing his harness. In one pull I haul him out, setting him on the ground beside me. I glance at his face, noticing something on his eyes.

"Is there a place on you that doesn't have dirt on it?" I laugh, wiping the dirt from where his eyes should be. I blink, wiping his eyes again as they open to caramel colored irises looking up at him. Eyes ... this dog as eyes? The dog sneezes and pulls back as I try to clean off the fur again, making sure what I'm seeing is the real thing. A dog with eyes ... which means it's a foreigner dog. Does this mean that there is a foreigner running around Diamond?

"Joe, Jerry, I've got an assignment for the both of you."

‡

Didn't take long for the Role Holders to figure it out. Now she has half the Role Holders tracking her down. How long do you think little Avery will last? **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~


	3. Chapter 3

AVERY'S POV

My heart pounds hard as I stumble to a stop, letting my breath catch up to me. With so many people in the woods I'll bet there is a town nearby. I have a feeling I will have a better chance finding my dogs in civilization rather than out here in the woods. I take in a deep breath before breathing out a sigh, trying to locate a road. There has to be one around here somewhere.

I head through a few deer trails, keeping alert for either that strange brown haired boy or the bunny man thing. I don't want anything to do with either of them. I breathe out a sigh as I see an arm swinging at me in my peripheral vision. I whip back and against a chest before the arm gets around my neck and tightly squeezes.

"Guh-!" I whine as a body presses up from behind to reduce my movement. He forces me to awkwardly bend over backwards, controlling my movement by taking hold of my head.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Miss Foreigner. You punched me when my guard was down and I was being nice." The brunette's voice purrs as his arm tightens. H-He found me-!My throat begins to close up from the crushing force before my arms whip up and grip the suffocating limb. I dig my nails into his arm and drag it down far enough to work my chin under his arm so he can't choke me out.

"O-O-O...ff-!" I wheeze, feeling my heart race faster and faster. I can't die. No, not here. Jett and Jaiden are still lost and if I'm killed here, there's very little chance of anyone finding my body.

"And~ down the hatch!" He eagerly grins as his fingers dig into my hair and force my head back. His other hand comes around with the vial in hand and thumb over the top. I open my mouth to scream but his thumb smashes against my lips, prying my jaw open with the vial itself. The glass scraps against the edges of my sensitive teeth, the choking liquid pouring into my mouth. I shove my back against him and try to get him off balance as my tongue blocks the back of my mouth, forcing some of the liquid to drip down my cheeks while most remained in my mouth.

"Awe~ that's not fair. You need to _swallow_ the potion in order to play the game." His voice near sadistically purrs as he shoves the entire vial down my throat. The thick vial gets stuck against the back of my throat as my eyes widen, unable to breath at all while the cool liquid slithers into my stomach. N-No, it might be poison or - I ... I ...

I will go to hell sooner than die here in a forest with this kid.

"That's a good girl." He smugly purrs, his arm loosening up while the vial itself chokes me. My fingers latch onto his arm before my leg shoots back and smacks against his knee.

"WHOA-!" He excitedly shouts, startled but pleased. I bend forward and flip the boy right over my shoulder and onto the ground before retreating a few steps, dropping to my knees I shove my hand into my mouth. My finger grip the back of the vial and rip it out of my mouth, tossing it aside as I sputter and cough to get my breath back. L-Lucky it wasn't any further down my throat or I would have s-swallowed it. I bite back a frightened growl as I glare over my shoulder at him. I need to either run or hurt him. Run fast enough that I can lose him or hurt him so he can't get back up and follow me.

"Ooh~ impressive! I thought I was going to have to give you the Heimlich maneuver!" He cheerfully laughs, picking up the vial coated in saliva. He wipes the dirt off on his sleeve as I wobble to my feet. R-Run, don't hurt him. He's still just a kid. I take a few shaky steps, attempting to make another getaway before his hand latches onto my arm.

"Hey, Miss Foreigner, you're not going to leave your vial are you-," he starts before I whip around with an elbow to the temple. He gives me the slip and ducks out of the way, bouncing back a little bit with a cheeky grin on his face. "Awe~ you wanna fight me? You sure that's a good idea?" He asks with a dangerous smile.

"I don't," I honestly say, putting my fists up near my cheeks as my right legs slides back a bit. My knees bend as I start swaying a bit, taking a deep breath before exhaling and analyzing my target, "but if you touch me a third time I will drop you."

"Ha ha! You can fight? I wanna see~," he happily purrs as he unbuckles his sword from his hip. My eyes flash as I hop from foot to foot, slipping a finger over my nose and taking off my glasses before tossing them back towards where I plan to leave after dropping him. I don't need them. Those are just for show, really but my brothers got me those as a gift after I made the decision to quit MMA. I didn't want to, but I ... but I didn't want to be called a dike or be judged for my hobbies and, for a short while, my profession. Call me a ninny or call me a sissy. Call me self conscious or call me a freak. Be my guest.

But when you raise a fist to me you will not walk away.

"Fun~! But, you don't fight with a weapon I guess." The teen chuckles before tossing his sword into the woods. He eyes me with interest, trying to awkwardly copy my movement. I let the tension leave my body with the next exhale, waiting for his next move. His training is mainly based on the sword. His movement is clean but the power behind it messy. He's a hard hitter, not a precise attacker from what I gather right now.

"Sorry, but I don't know how to go easy." He apologizes with cool eyes before he grins, "I've never really trained with hand to hand combat before ha ha!" A joker. A kidder. A mocker. Someone who can't fight well with fists and instead relies on weapons. If I can get him on the ground I will win, hands down. The normal human being is awkward when fighting on the ground because movement is limited.

I remain silent before making the first lunge, watching for his sloppy counter attack to the large opening I left. He grins and jumps forward, aiming with a poorly formed uppercut. My head barely moves to the side, feeling his knuckles scrape against my jaw before shooting my arm out and around the back of his head and yanks his head into my collarbone before forcing his head a little lower. Being taller I need to maintain control, not allowing his body to move freely.

"Ooh~ a booby shot?" He laughs, mocking my muay thai clinch as he pushes his head into my chest. My fingers dig into his hair as I pull my leg back before driving it into his gut. He bulks, realizing the true danger he is in before putting his hands up to catch the next one. I bring my arm back and lighten up the hold, letting him try to tear his head back as a normal reaction before swinging my elbow around and digging it into the side of his head. He stumbles back, holding the bleeding cut as I dance back. He knows I'm a threat now so he has a choice. Continue or be driven into the ground.

"Ha ... ha ha ha ha ha!" He laughs, seeming enthralled, "this is so much fun! You actually got a hit!" He says, pulling his head down to reveal how large the gash was. My heart trembles as I watch the blood stream down his face. I hit him hard enough to knock someone out but he's still standing. I ... I need to take out his legs somehow. At least sprain an ankle so he can't run after me.

"Alright~ no more going easy I guess." He grins before whipping forward. I bounce back and wait until he's close enough, immediately realizing the bear hug he's attempting despite the poor cover up.

The moment his fingers touch my arms I drop down to one knee and grab his leg, using his own momentum to knock him clear off his feet. He drops to the side as I force his leg up and, ignoring the other leg going around for a kick, wrap my legs around his thigh and hook my arm around his ankle. I need to sprain it. I have to. The unexpectedly hard kick from his other leg despite the awkward position smacks into me, making me falls down over his ankle at an awkward ankle. Crap-!

I feel the tendons and bones in his ankle strain before suddenly giving out beneath the thin layer of the long boot, crushed under my body and at the unintentional angle of falling. The kid takes in a sudden breath before I let go and roll onto my legs, hopping back as I survey his awkwardly twisted foot. T-That was not my intention! I meant to strain it, not break it!

"Ha ha ha ha ha wow that hurts!" He laughs as he sits up, realizing the fight is over. He lifts up his limp foot and looks at it with a cheeky smile, probably too hyped up on adrenaline to realize just how bad it is.

"I-I'M SO SORRY!" I instinctively shout as I drop down and stare at his broken foot. O-Oh, my gosh, crap that's not good! "I-I-I only meant to sprain your ankle but you kicked me over!" I sit by his leg and gently touch the calf oh his foot and start to untie the laces.

"Huh? Aren't you going to run?" He asks, looking confused as I very gently slip his shoe off. My eyes widen as the sorely red and irritated skin is already starting to balloon up, making his foot stiff but his ankle free moving.

"B-But I broke your foot!" I cry, mortified. I've got to get him to a doctor and _then_ run for my life from him. I can't just leave him out here, he'll die!

"So? It will be fixed in a Time Change or two." He laughs, not at all caring about it. I nervously stare at the foot before going off to the side and picking up my glasses, setting them on before hopping off where I saw him throw his blade. He perks up as I reemerge from the bushes, noticing his sword now buckles around my slimmer waist.

"Ha ha am I being robbed?" He laughs with a wide grin, seeming to enjoy the thought. I kneel down right beside him and grab his arm before hooking the other around the injured leg's knee. Before he can say anything I pick him right up off the ground in the form of a fireman carry.

"Ha ha ha ha ha I'm being kidnapped!" He shouts with delight with a grin on his face. I glance at the signs and spy the word 'town' on one before heading down that general direction. How in the world did I miss that?

"S-Sorry ... really, really sorry. I'll take you to a hospital." I say, swallowing my fright of walking through town with the kid over my shoulders. This ... is not something a girl would do, carrying a boy over her shoulders. But I need to help him. I ... can endure the r-ridicule. This is my fault. I shiver at the thought of what others will think as I try to hurry down the path but not jostle the kid around too much.

"No need. I'm heading to the Art Museum now since Julius is there." He answers, seeming the enjoy the fact I could not only lift him up but also carry him. He's fairly light but he's also heavier than I thought he would be.

"Julius?" I ask, assuming he's a doctor for wherever this Art museum is.

"Yes," he breathes with a smile as his eyes seem to sadden, "he's my best friend."

"Then, I will bring you to Julius." And then run for my life and away from this kid.

The town lights shine through the darkness as I head towards them, thankful to have finally sound civilization. My muscles tremble and ache from the long search as I finally come to a stop and rest for a bit near a bench. The soles of my feet ache from carrying the boy and walking around for so long. Goodness I'm tired. The kid's body trembles with laughter before it bursts out in a loud, ear popping blow.

"I'm amazed you could run so fast with me on your back!" The man heartily laughs as I wobble forward. Last night was a nightmare. We were chased by a bear with two babies and, with little to no warning, the sky suddenly changed from night to sunrise! I can't ... I can't take much more of this. I just can't. If this is some messed up dream from drinking too much diet Pepsi before bed then please wake up soon!

"Ha ha! We finally made it to town! The Art Museum is that way." The kid points out with a broad grin. I lazily crane my head back to stare at him. Is it? Is it really? Because I've been walking around for hours and we _just_ made it to town. He took me down some unmarked paths and, assuming he knew the area, followed them right into the den of a grumpy mother bear. Is it possible he just has a terrible sense of direction?

"I think I'm going to asks for directions." I say, looking around the near empty street before spying a lone man kneeling by the edge of a shop, propping the leg of a broken table up with a few bricks.

"Awe~ you don't trust me?" He laughs as I walk up behind the hunched over man and gently tap him on the shoulder. I'm sure he will be nice enough to help me.

"Um, excuse me, could you tell me where the Art Museum _is_-?!" I jolt at the end, frightened as I stare into smooth slopes on the man's head where his eyes should be. W-Where are his eyes?!

"Ma'am?" He asks, tilting his head in confusion. I-I-Is that normal? Is that some sort of serious health condition? I-I shouldn't stare, it's rude. I nervously gulp as my legs start to tremble a bit, wanting to run away but I hold firm.

"U-U-U-Uh, y-y-y-y-yes, er, can you please tell me where the A-Art Museum is?" I stiffly ask, nervously gulping. Don't stare at his face don't stare at his face d-don't stare at his face-! I listen closely for his instruction, pointedly looking away and trying not to rudely gawk at him.

" ... uh, sure?" He says, clearly puzzle as to why I'm so stiff, "the Art Museum is just over there," he says, pointing me in the right direction.

"Thank you-!" I quickly say, adjusting the boy on my shoulders before dashing off. What happened to his eyes?! There were no scars or anything so where were they? Even if it was some sort of horrible disfiguration at birth he would still have some sort of scar tissue there. But ... i-it felt like he was staring right at me even without actual eye balls.

"H-Hey, is that the queen's dog?!" The man shouts. I glance back at him the moment he said dog, immediately looking around for an actual dog. Dog? Could it be Jaiden or Jett?

"H-Hierr." I call, looking around and listen intently for the tapping of paws. If he saw a dog maybe it's one of my dogs?

"Uh oh~ you talked to the wrong faceless, Miss Foreigner," the boy laughs, "ha ha, we're in trouble now!"

"W-Wrong faceless?" I stutter as I turn back around face the man as he pulls out a small pocket watch from his jacket. Why did he call him a faceless? My eyes widen as the pocket watch fades and visibly reassembles in the blink of an eye into a gun.

"I-It turned into a _gun_!?" I cry, startled as I wobble back from the man. How? How did a watch turn into a handgun?! "W-Watch! It was a watch a second ago!"

"You murdered my father, dog." The faceless coldly states, his hand trembling as he keeps the barrel locked onto the boy. M-Murder? Just who am I carrying right now?! And how could a kid this young commit something like a murder? My head whips back, spying the boy's cheerful smile.

"I couldn't help it! He was a witness and tried to attack me." He laughs, doing nothing at all to help the situation and instead makes it worse. I frantically whip my head back and forth, struggling to think of a way to calm the situation down. Isn't there something else you could have said?!

"W-W-Wait, let's talk about this-," I start, stumbling back as he takes a few steps forward. Please, please don't involve me I'm just helping someone so why am I being punished?!

"No. This man killed him-!" He starts before the end of a gun slipped out of a nearby alley and pressed against the side of his head.

"Hey, hey now, it's not nice scaring a little lady." A deep voice chuckles as the man steps into the light with a cocky grin.

"B-Bermudas-!" The man squeaks before the man in a hard hat taps the end of the barrel against his head.

"D-Don't shoot, don't shoot!" I cry, trying not to get anyone killed here. Why do all of these people have guns? Scary, that's scary!

"Gun down. We aren't here to cause trouble today." He grins. The man shudders and

"Are you alright, Miss Avery?" Another man asks, nearly making me jump out of my skin in fright. I spin around, spying another thinner man approach me with a shovel in hand. Are these guys construction workers who saw the confrontation?

"W-W-Wait, how do you know my n-name?" I stammer, taking an uneasy step back from him. Should I try to outrun him? But then they can gun me down.

"Oh, here let me take him." He says, reaching for Ace.

"S-Sure?" I stammer, letting him slide Ace off my shoulders and onto his one. He casts a glance over Ace's foot, giving it hardly any more attention before looking back up to me.

"From the tags of what I assume is your dog." He says, disclosing no other information about the dog.

"O-Oh, you've found one? I-Is it Jaiden or Jett? O-Or, I mean, a German Sheppard or a Doberman?" I nervously stammer, glancing back at the confrontation not too far away.

"Oh, you have two dogs? We only found one. Well, more like he found us. It's the German Sheppard." He reassures with a bright smile.

"T-Thank goodness," I breathe. I'm glad I found at least one of them. I glance over to the two men again, watching the hard hat man holding the back of the smaller man's neck and gruffly muttering something into his ear. The man in the hard hat smacks the offender upside the head, making him stumble before he takes off running. I tense as he turns to me, startled to see a friendly smile on his face.

"You alright Miss? I can track him down if you'd like." He laughs, keeping his gun pointed towards the ground.

"N-N-No, t-that, um, that's alright, t-th-thank you." I nervously stammer, looking at the man who's about my height but perhaps a smidge shorter. It's a little hard to tell with the hard hat on. N-Not that height matters but ... to me, it's nice looking up to someone every now and then rather than looking down.

"Alright then. Would you like to come see your dog?" The man offers with a grin.

"Y-Yes! U-U-Um, yes please." I say, remembering to tack on manners.

"Well aren't you a sweetheart." He laughs, clapping me over the shoulder before leading the way with the thinner and more polite construction worker walking behind us.

"Awe~ have I been forgotten about?" Ace speaks up with a laugh before looking another way, "isn't the Art Museum that way?"

"It's not."

"Are you sure-,"

"Positive." Both workers say in unison as if they've been through this situation before with him.

JERICHO'S POV

"Where did that dog go?" I mutter aloud as I walk around the Art Museum for him. I take my eyes off of him for a moment and he wanders off somewhere. Luckily I was able to give him a proper bath but he slipped away when I turned to get the towel for him. My head snaps to the side as I hear loud barking coming from inside one of the rooms. My clock drops in concern as I hurry over, finding the door unlocked. I remember shutting that door specifically so how in the world did he get inside the rabbit room?

I throw the door back, spying the old dog having a jolly good time chasing after the screaming rabbits. Many of them took to the paintings, hopping inside as quickly as they could but he corners one of them, barking loudly with his tail wagging. The young rabbit cowers into the corner, jumping each time the dog juts his head in.

"Hey, hey!" I shout, loudly clapping my hands to get his attention. He steadily ignores me as I hurry inside, watching him inch up to the rabbit and start to gently run his tongue over the young rabbit's back. The little rabbit trembles with fright as Jaiden licks it as if he were thanking it for the fun and apologizing for giving it such a scare.

"Come on Jaiden, it's not nice terrorizing my merchandise." I chuckle, half expecting the rabbit to keel over from a heart attack. My rabbits can't go off dying on me so I'm afraid I have to pull him away from his fun. I reach in front of him and gently pick the white rabbit up, balancing it in a single hand. Troublesome boy, he could have killed one.

Jaiden hops to his feet, happily pawing after me with his tongue lolling out off his mouth and chest heaving with lingering excitement. My eyes scan the room, trying to see if there is any blood or, worse yet, bunny bodies laying around. It doesn't look like he killed any. He must have been chasing them for the fun of it. I kneel before a painting and let the bunny hop inside, watching it immediately dash off to a burrow and hide underneath.

Jaiden sits next to me and stares at the painting, playfully growling at the frenzied bunnies hopping around inside. I let out a heavy sigh and pat his head, slipping my hand under his harness before dragging the resistant dog out. I'm glad he didn't hurt any of them but now I have to close this room off and let the bunnies get comfortable enough to leave the paintings and enter the room on their own.

"Is something the matter, Don?" A worker asks as he approaches, spying the dog in hand before darting a troubled gaze to the room.

"Who left the door open?" I calmly ask, shutting the door and locking it for good measure before letting the dog go. He shakes himself out, licking the air before sniffing the ground and finding something else to amuse himself with.

"No one, Don. It was shut when I walked past it not too long ago." The servant says, casting the door a suspicious look.

"Just to be sure, search the Art Museum for unwanted company. I don't want to have a shoot out with the foreigner when he or she comes." I order. I don't want to frighten the foreigner out of his or her mind. I'm sure he or she is frightened right now but, by returning the dog I'm sure to get on friendly terms with the outsider. I smile and reach down to pet the dog on the head, feeling nothing but empty air. My head snaps up, spying an empty space before mad rounds of loud barking sounds in the fish room. That door was closed before but he must have opened it somehow.

"It looks like we have a little escape artist dog on our hands." I chuckle, not too bothered about the dog being in the tank room. That room has small time fish and no large predators. As long as he doesn't float into the water he will be fine. The thought troubles me as I head over to it, hearing a sharp and high pitched yelp before the dog skitters out of the room with a gash on its back leg.

"Ha ha, this dog is has eyes and a harness like the other one."

"Cool! I wonder if he can fight too?" Excited voices shout from within the room. My clock drops as I dart in the direction of the voices. S***, what are those twins doing here?! Jaiden whips around, teeth barred as Dee, one of the bloody twins, leaps from the room and brings his axe down over the elderly canine.

"HEY!" I loudly shout, making his head snap towards me. The axe misses it's mark as the dog lunges forward, sinking his teeth into Dee's arm holding the upper portion of the axe.

"OW!" He shouts, clearly pained as Dum shifts his axe into a pistol and brings it down over the dog's head.

"Hey, let go!" He shouts. Jaiden's grip remains firm as Dum brings it down over his head again before hopping back and aiming for him.

_BANG_

‡

*GASP* WHAT HAS BECOME OF POOR JAIDEN?! **_10 REVIEWS_** to find out :3


	4. Chapter 4

"Here we are, the Art Museum." The gravedigger says with a proud grin. It wasn't until we started talking that I realized they aren't construction workers at all. Well, in a sense. They are actually grave diggers that work at the Graveyard not far from the Art Museum.

I warily stare at the sunset sky, not wanting to ask about it. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the sky suddenly got darker and thought the end of the world was coming. I never saw people laugh so hard as the three here.

"U-Um, thank you, I appreciate your help and f-finding me." I smile. But I feel a little troubled that they _did_ find me in the first place. Where did they know where to look and how in the world did they guess it was my dog?

"It's not a problem, Miss Avery. Don was the one who got him, really." The Gravedigger grins, trying to offer a friendly pat on the shoulder. I jump back slightly, surprising him before I realize my actions. I don't think I can get used to seeing people without eyes. But ... that rabbit man thing had eyes and so does the kid the Gravedigger is carrying. What makes them different so that they eyes?

"U-Um, Don?" I ask.

"Yes, our boss, Jericho Bermuda. He's looking forward to meeting the owner of the dog that kept burying us gravediggers in the holes we were digging." He sharply laughs with an eager grin. My cheeks slap with red. Oh Jaiden, that troublesome senile dog ...

"S-Sorry about that. His training is still there but in his older age he's starting to explore his inner puppy I think." I admit before sheepishly looking away in embarrassment. Goodness Jaiden, why are you causing problems? But at least he didn't cause property damage. And if he did then I will have to pay up. I don't have as much cash as I would like and I have a feeling my credit cards won't work here.

"You bet." He chuckles before falling quiet, staring at four men dressed in sharp suits standing in the front of the building. They cast glances our way as we approach, their faces remaining neutral of emotion. Are they door greeters? That's nice. I smile at the thought and sheepishly wave to them as we approach. "Something up?"

"Oh, you must be Avery." One of the men smiles as he steps off of the stairs and looks at my neck. He stiffens slightly, craning his head up to look at me. Why did he avoid the man's question?

"U-Um, y-y-yes I am." I stammer nervously.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Come on inside." He invites, waving the two gravediggers off.

"Awe~ what about me?" The kid playfully laughs with a grin.

"You as well, Ace." He sighs, seeming a little torn about letting him inside. Oh, so his name is Ace. A greeter walks over and shuffles Ace onto his shoulders before going ahead inside.

"My lady." The worker cheerfully addresses before taking my hand and gently guiding me inside. Ooh~ what a gentleman. I smile at his chivalrous attitude and walk inside behind him, looking around at all of the beautiful artwork. Wow~ it looks amazing in here. I glance back at the greeter, noticing a man dressed as a waiter muttering into his ear and the greeter's face once again becomes void of emotion. He perks up once he notices I'm watching, putting a cheerful face back on.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Avery, But it seems Don has stepped out to take Jaiden on a walk since he was so active. Would you mind waiting a small while for him?" He asks. Oh, so he's not here?

"O-Oh, I don't mind." I stammer, glancing outside the window. I really have no idea what to do. I have no place to stay the night and there's no way I'm going to ask these people for one. I have no idea who they are. But, after he gets back and I get Jaiden, we could go to that park I saw before. There was a nice looking bench with my name on it. And with Jaiden by me no one will be able to sneak up on me. He may be old and going senile but he still has decent instincts.

"Would you care for a tour, Miss Avery?" The gentleman asks with a smile.

"O-Oh, um, I wouldn't want to trouble you at all." I say, cautious about walking around an unfamiliar place to me with strangers lurking about. With my five older brothers it's hard not to take notice of things all around me. This is suspicious, of course but I know they are telling the truth about my dog. There's no way they would have known Jaiden was my dog or his name without actually seeing his tags. And, they seem like kind enough people.

"It's no trouble at all. It will take your mind off your worries for a bit." He says as he holds out a hand.

"Um, thank you then." I say with a bashful smile and walk alongside him, pointedly keeping my hands clasped together. If it comes right down to it I'll need my hands free to run for my life. I glance outside one of the windows, staring into the sun setting in the distance and remaining completely still where it is. I really hope Jaiden is actually with these people.

JERICHO'S POV

"How's it looking, vet?" I anxiously ask, staring at the dog as an oxygen tank supports his shallow breathing. Thankfully the bullet went through a body cavity and straight through him, only nicking a rip and lung. I stare at his bloody gums, watching the dog whine in his sleep as he wheezes.

"Not too good. It was a good thing you got him to me when you could." The man says as his wife clears the kitchen counter. I'm lucky this man agreed to perform surgery on his own kitchen table for the dog.

"Thank you again and I apologize for interupting your evening." I say, directing my apologies to the wife. She worriedly casts her gaze over the table, seeming troubled before nodding and walking off.

"Ah~ sweetheart," the man starts but she leaves the room and goes up the stairs before he turns to me with an apologetic smile, "sorry about that. She's not happy when I bring business home with me. Or when it comes to find me." He laughs with a strained grin.

"No, I understand and I thank you for this favor. I'll be sure to return it." I smile. I know his business has been a little slow so giving him a small profit for his help will be in order.

"Nonsense, Bermuda. I help no matter who the customer is." He cheerfully smiles before moving the needle and thread onto a silver platter, patching up the wounds with some bandaging. This isn't good, the dog is visibly injured and there's no way to hide it from this Avery character. I feel terrible for presenting the dog to her in this condition but it could not be avoided. Perhaps a few days here would help the dog recover a while longer but I'm sure the gravediggers have already found her and told her we've found her dog. Perhaps I was a bit hasty indirectly promising that we had her dog. Which, although is not a lie, is not exactly a settling truth.

"Don." A voice calls out as a worker from the front lets himself into the house, looks around for a moment before seeing us in the kitchen.

"Avery has arrived?"

"Yes. Jesse is currently giving her a tour of the Art Museum to help distract her." He says, never casting the wheezing dog a look.

"Hm ... ," I hum, trying to think of a solution. I don't want her walking around Diamond Country because I'm sure the dog has been seen by other faceless while walking around, giving others similar conclusions that there is a foreigner running about the land. "Convince her to stay the Night and give her a room. I will return in about a time change or two and meet with her myself."

"Yes Don." The guard says with a slight bow before leaving for the Art Museum.

"Avery ... hm~ so that means there is a foreigner here?" The vet curiously asks before taking another look at the dog's eyes. My smile stiffens as I stare at him and observe his curiosity. His interest is genuine, that's for sure. I've known his family for a little while now and I don't believe he would do something sinister to anyone. The man can hardly bring himself to kill a spider.

"And I would much rather this sort of information not to go floating around." I say, tapping my finger to my nose. The man stares at the strange motion before it clicks, causing a smile to spread across his face.

"So odd ... I wonder what she is like?" He says aloud, more so to himself as he gets a cone from under the sink and wraps the dog's limp and bandaged head in it.

"I wonder indeed." I agree, worriedly watching the dog. If I play my cards right I can easily get her to trust me but I am unsure how she will react to seeing her dog like this. Already a plan begins to formulate as I lean forward in the chair, watching him put some pain medication into the IV beside the dog. I just hope that information is not spreading around like I fear it will.

ELLIOT'S POV

My ears stand tall and alert as I walk around town through mainly the alleys, listening for anything that could direct me to this Avery guy. It's surprising how much Intel anyone can gather if they simply _listen_. Blood told me something weird ... he told me to listen for something that is _not_ a clock while searching for this Avery, but rather a strange sound I never heard before. But as to why Blood is so interested in this 'Avery' I'm not sure. I have to admit that I'm curious. Did the dog showing up mean something more significant that Blood isn't telling me? Well, I guess I can always beat the information out of the Avery guy before dragging him to Blood.

" ... Avery, and," a voice a little distance away says rather loudly. My ears perk up at the name and immediately start heading over to the man who said it, listening intently to the conversation.

"Avery? Strange name. And Bermuda's men defended the faceless?" Another voice curiously asks. I silently stalk their voices through the alleys, crossing a street to get to the area they are in. D*** it, have Bermuda's gotten to the guy before me? It will be much more troublesome peeling him away from that family and taking him to Blood now without cornering Avery somewhere. Faceless out for errands shy away and wisely retreat, knowing there is trouble ahead if I'm present.

"That's the thing! Avery had _eyes_ man, eyes! Like a Role Holder but the a**hole doesn't act like one at all." The faceless says as I approach a corner. I slow down, listening to the echoes in the alley. He's just down this alley but I want to catch him alone.

"Hm ... that is definitely interesting information. Thank you for your time, kind citizen." A voice says before feet start to recede away. Hm ... I'm going to have to track that man down and kill him if it becomes an inconvenience to Blood. I doubt he'd like information he wants frivolously floating around.

"H-Hey wait, aren't you going to pay me? Like you said you would?" Ah~ payment for information, hm? He definitely must be working with the Griffin family. That is the only organization that respects other faceless and doesn't try double crossing other faceless too often, anyway.

"Oh, yes. Here you are. Try not to let a Role Holder get a hold of this information." The man says as I stand by the corner to hear out the rest of their conversation. My ears remain tall and alert as I smirk. Not too smart saying that so loudly. I listen to their feet as they walk away, listening to the man flipping bills in his hand. That's the one that knows the information since he was just paid however much he was.

I press against the wall and watch the faceless step out of the alley, eyes glued to the bills in his hands. After a block or two I'll nab him. I don't want that other faceless hearing him screaming. I quietly stalk the man at every turn, waiting until he steps down another empty alley before leaping up behind him. My arm whips out and tightly grips his shirt, yanking the smaller man right off his feet.

"Yeek-!" He cries between clenched teeth as I slam him up against the wall, pressing my gun to his head as I shove my forearm against his throat.

"That's some interesting information you have there." I start with a grin. I'm lucky to have run across this guy who actually knows this Avery guy. I thought I would be snooping around for a couple time changes just to hunt information about him down so there's no way I'm letting this opportunity go to waste.

"W-Why are Hatters out here-?!" He chokes out, startled to see me at any time while the sun is still out. It's still Dusk so it's not _that_ odd.

"Tell me where the man named Avery is." I flatly order, wanting to get this Avery as soon as possible to Blood.

"Y-Y-Yes, I will tell you." He says, caring more for his life rather than his word to the man before.

"Good." I say, "now, his whereabouts?"

"H-Him?" He stutters confused. My eyes narrow before aiming down, shooting right through his leg before muffling his screams with my forearm. I look off to either side, letting him come to terms with the agony as I make sure his voice didn't catch anyone's attention. He trembles and makes small shakes with his head as if to plead for no more.

"You said you'd tell me everything you knew so where's the confusion?" I sternly demand, cocking the gun right up against his genitals as I move my arm across his throat again.

"A-A-Avery isn't a he it's a _she_!" He whines between choking breaths, struggling not to be too loud in fears I'll shoot him dead right here and now. A she?

"And you said something else. Something about eyes?" I demand, tucking that information into the back of my head. Woman or man Blood will still want to see Avery.

"Y-Y-Yes! She had bright blue, big eyes. Eyes l-like a Role Holder bu-but I've never seen her before." He stutters between his shaking breath.

"How could she possibly have eyes if she isn't a Role Holder?" I ask, doubtful of the source of information. This sounds like a wild goose chase that I'm on.

"Alright then tell me this. Where is she now?" Blood told me to bring her to him so that is exactly what I'm going to do. If it turns out she's a fake, I'll shoot the b**** dead and drag the corpse to him. But if she doesn't exist, then I'll be forced to go back empty handed and Blood won't like that very much.

"T-T-The last I saw her with was the gravediggers. T-That's all I know, I swear!" He cries, praying I would believe him.

"I believe you."

_BANG_

AVERY'S POV

"I'm sorry to bother you but why is your, um, Don taking so long?" I anxiously ask, trying to be patient but at the same time feel anxiety claw away at me. They are taking so long that I'm really, really starting to get worried about Jaiden. He loves to go on walks so I can see him dragging this Don guy all over town.

"He will be back soon, I assure you." The man smiles as we go through the halls for a third time.

I watch as he points out the rooms, again offering to take me through the rooms to which I politely decline. Being in an open space with windows nearby is safer than being in a confined room with strangers. I can't help being so careful and critical. My oldest brother is a police officer so he's basically has hammered this information into my head for as long as I can remember. I don't mean to make everyone seem like a bad guy but until I get to know them I don't know what their intentions are.

"Oh, there you two are." A voice calls. I look over my shoulder, watching a waiter approach us with an apologetic smile on his face. "I am coming to inform you that Jericho will be running awfully late. He has been caught up in some business and does not have time to return for some time. He deeply apologizes for the inconvenience and wishes to make up for it by offering you a room to stay the Night period, Miss Avery." He explains, turning to me for the latter part.

"O-Oh, I, um, I don't know about that." I say, seeing red flags shoot up all over the place. This is very suspicious. They may have seen my dog but why with all the excuses?

"I can understand your confusion and hesitation, Miss Avery, but he insists. It is no trouble at all for us to host you a few Nights." He broadly smiles. Oh, oh no so now it's a _few_ nights? Yes, definitely very, very suspicious. I need to leave.

"I decline." I say with a nervous smile, feeling a flustered flush touch my cheeks as I back up a bit in the direction of the front door.

"Miss Avery, please. Don will be saddened if he returns and finds you not here."

"Um, that's alright, I will come back tomorrow." Or never, never works too. I'm starting to think they may not have my dog at all. Maybe ... I hate to think of it, but maybe Jaiden slipped out of his collar and that's what they found. But as to how they tracked me down with only Jaiden's collar is a mystery. And a little freaky.

"Please, Miss Avery? I'm sure Don will return himself tonight." The man smiles, changing his tune. He gently clasps my hands, earnestly smiling at me.

"A-Alright." I quietly agree, unsure if I made the right choice. This is really freaking me out.

"Excellent. Right this way, Miss Avery." He cheerfully smiles, politely guiding me up the stairs. I nervously follow after him, keeping a wary eye and a careful ear for anything that could sound suspicious. Maybe it's just me psyching myself out b-but this whole situation is just plain sketchy. He stops before a door and opens it for me, allowing me to step inside first before standing in the doorway. "Go ahead and get some rest, Miss Avery. We will come and fetch you once Don has come."

"U-Um, t-t-that's alright. I'm really tired s-so I will meet him in the morning." I nervously stutter.

"Oh, very well," he says, sounding perplexed at my sudden change in tune, "then we will see you then, Miss Avery." He smiles before shutting the door.

"O-Oh, um, can you get me some bandages please?" I hesitantly ask.

"Are you hurt?" He asks, looking my over.

"N-No, no I'm not but I would like to wrap my hands and feet in them. I-It's a strange request, I know but I have problems with them." Especially when I punch or kick too hard by mistake. I really hope it doesn't come down to that but I don't have my normal wraps with me.

"Oh, yes of course. There should be two rolls under the sink in the bathroom." He cheerfully points out before taking a step inside.

"T-That's alright, thank you. I'll use those then." I smile as he takes a hesitant step back out of the room.

"Very well. Good Night, Miss Avery." He smiles before closing the door and walk off. I walk over to the door and immediately lock it before heading to the bathroom. I need to leave, right now and that window is the perfect opportunity.

My hand bumps against my front pocket, making my heart jump as I feel something long and thin. I immediately fish it out, praising my forgetfulness as I find Jaiden's and Jett's dog whistle. This one was especially made for my brother and he gave me a copy of it so I can use it. Oh gosh I can't believe I forgot that was there and thank goodness too! I would have left the house without it since I was just taking the dogs on a simple walk.

I hesitate before eyeing up the large closet dresser about ten yards from the door. I should barricade it so no one can get in so easily. My stomach drops at the thought of someone walking in here before I walk over and grip the base of the large piece of furniture, sucking in a deep breath before lifting it a foot off the ground. The heavy hunk of wood weighs heavy in my arms as I crab walk back over to the door, controlling my breathing and grunting as I carefully set it on the ground with a soft thud. Since this door opens in towards the room there's no way they can knock it over so easily, especially with the angle that it's at.

My thoughts turn towards the bandages under the sink as I head over there next, finding the white bandages just where he said they would be along with a medical kit. I pull it out unravel the bandages before wrapping my hand in it. Not too tight, not too loose, protect the knuckles ...

My mind falls into a somewhat trance as I wrap my hand, having to use the needle and thread in the kit to hold the bandages in place. My fingers tighten and loosen, feeling the bandages pull against my skin. Perfect. I wrap my other hand and feet, making sure the support on my wrists and ankles are absolutely perfect. Ha ... just like it used to be.

I softly smile at the old memory and kiss my padded knuckles before heading to the window. Surprisingly, this isn't my first time having to do this. I open the window and look outside the building, finding the two story drop not to be as bad as I expected. After some contemplation I flip outside the window, jolting as I hear someone try the door handle.

"Oh, I assume you are otherwise preoccupied, but I was wondering if you would like to eat something before you rest. It was awfully rude of me not to offer before because it had slipped my mind." He says from behind the door. The temptation of food almost draws me out but I shake it off, shuffling along the edge before dropping. My heart skips a beat from the quickly approaching ground, tucking and rolling with the fall as I land. I tumble over and onto my feet, letting out a shaky breath before looking up to the window.

Sorry not sorry~ I really have no idea what is going on here but it's best I leave. I will be fine walking around a bit. I flip the dog whistle in my hands and walk along the forest line to the road, making sure to keep out of sight of the Art Museum before finally making it onto the sidewalk. Ah~ freedom at last.

"Jaiden, Jett, Hierr." I softly call, putting the whistle to my lips before calling out to them in a pitch I can't hear. I walk right past the Graveyard, doing my best not to watch the workers and hope no one pays attention to me as I hurry on my way. I let out a deep sigh as I pass without trouble, continually blowing a stream of air into the whistle.

Oh please be alright Jaiden and Jett.

‡

Just curious, who would you rather see Avery with as her first pairing? Jericho or Gray (he'll be in the next chapter)? :3 **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter, Chickadees~ :D


	5. Chapter 5

The whistle sounds of the faint but present high pitched tone slowly drives nails into my ears before I twist the top to adjust the frequency. Gosh this is really starting to hurt my ears. I place the dog whistle on my lips, continuing to call for both dogs. I'm really starting to get worried now. Both of them have excellent hearing, Jett more so than Jaiden, but I can't find either of them. I walk down streets and paths, ignoring strange looks from people around me. I-I'll be just fine. I need to find my brother's dogs.

I continue to whistle for hours, constantly searching for them. Nowhere ... I can't find them anywhere. I walk into a large clearing in the buildings, spying a massive structure that looks strangely like a train station. I look to the right, noticing a sign with the words Train Station on it. Well, that's obvious labeling for you. I blow the whistle and stare through the doors, nearly inhaling the dog whistle as I spy movement. J-Jaiden? Or maybe Jett? I run up to the doors and try them all, finding every single one of them to be locked. It's completely possible for them to be in here. They know what a train is. They've been on them often enough and, most times, I take them to meet my oldest brother for when he gets home from work on the subway. They might be in there, waiting for the train that won't bring him to them.

"J-Jaiden, Jett hierr!" I order before blowing the whistle and staring at the window. Another flicker of movement catches my eye, making me desperate. What if they are in there but they are hurt? What if they are pinned down somehow? My eyes steadily study the glass, unable to see a bullet proof insignia on it that would otherwise make me rethink my plan. I slip off my shirt and wrap it around my right hand, staring at the door.

... I am so sorry to whoever owns this door.

I bring my fists up before whipping my right arm right into the glass, watching the entire glass door crack from under the pressure. Pain weakly radiates through my hand as I pull back and grip the railing on top of the stairs leading to the door, smashing my foot right through the glass.

Most of the glass weakly shudders but the pieces that make direct contact to my foot are blown all over the floor inside. I'm willing to pay for the replacement if that's what is needed. The momentum sends me forward a bit, scrapping my ankle against the sharp edged glass but does not reach my skin. Well that's it for my skinny jeans. But that's alright, I can always cut them into shorts.

I wrap my shirt all around my arm and slip it through the hole, patting along the door before unlocking the door. It swings open with an ominous groan, presenting the completely empty Train Station. A shiver crawls down my spine as I step inside, feeling a pair of eyes staring and judging me at every corner for what I've done. My heart trembles, feeling the heavy invisible eyes before I hesitantly speak up.

"I-I-I-I'll pay for t-the door." I promise to the empty halls.

_That won't help._

_Didn't you see her barbaric nature?_

_She just punched right through the glass!_

_That's trespassing. _

_Who's going to believe that lie?_

_She broke in because she saw a cat with an injured leg that conveniently ran off?_

_Lies_

_It's a lie_

_IT'S aLl LiEs._

"I-I promise ... ," I quietly swear, feeling my past anxieties begin to crush me. My breath shakes as I step inside, clutching a fist over my chest as I stare at the shattered glass on the ground. Sorry ... I'm sorry.

"H-Hierr." I softly cry in a trembling voice. "J-Jaiden, Jet, p-please, please hierr." Tears begin to sheen over my eyes as I blow a trembling breath into the whistle, listening to padding paws across the hard ground. I walk inside, looking around for any signs of life.

"I-I-I will pay, I promise. I w-will pay it off, I promise." I repeat amongst my calls for the missing dogs. My head whips around as I spy the lights in a nearby room flicker on. My fright nearly makes me jump out of my skin as I stumble back, hand over my racing heart and eyes glued to the light. O-Oh my goodness, someone is here?!

"I-I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't know if a-anyone was here and I-I thought my dogs might be here." I say, eager to explain my reasoning and anxious for them to believe me. I carefully watch the windows, searching for any kind of movement before spying a penny on the ground. Oh, a penny. I bend over and pick it up, hearing a painful whistle come and go past my ears, barely grazing my cheek. My focus shifts, spying a sharp edged knife buried into the concrete ground.

_Look out! On the ceiling-!_ A voice nearly shrieks in my head. I whip around and snap my head up towards the ceiling. A dark figure with bright topaz eyes that seemed to glow in the dark falls from the ceiling, another blade in his hands.

"EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!" I scream at the top of my lungs before leaping back and narrowly avoiding the sharp weapon. His eyes flash before lunging forward, skimming the weapon right across my ribs. My body instinctively rams my knee up into his chest and my elbow into his spine, taking advantage of the large opening he mistakenly left on his pull back for another attack. He shuddered, taken off guard by the attack before making another swipe across my stomach, forcing me back from him.

"H-H-H-Hey, wait, wait _I'm sorry I broke your door_!" I shout at the top of my lungs, my pitch nearly squeaking at the end as he makes another gutsy charge. I hop back before shooting in right at him, again taking him off guard as I make a hard low kick against his arm. The force knocks the blade from his hand but his other arm scoops up my leg, using his own momentum to throw me off balanced. My eyes widen at my rusty mistake before I shove a hand against his head and push it back, lashing my other arm out and punch him right across the face. He grits his teeth and continues to run with my leg, forcing the fight to the ground.

And this is where it ends.

I wrap my long legs around his waist and press myself up against him, slipping my arm right up between our heads before hooking it around his neck. Choking him out seems like a better option than breaking an arm right now. My forearm presses right up against his adam's apple, closing his windpipe.

The second he realizes that danger he's in he brings his fist back and punches hard into my waist, making another hard punch closer to my rips. I pull his waist down and pull up with his head, forcing his body to stretch and make movement harder. I can already see his ground game is not up to my level. If he had kept the fight on our feet he would have cut me up with his knives.

His fingers wedge under my arm and try to undermine me but I latch a hand to my wrist and keep it steady, making sure he can't tuck his chin under my arm. He grips my elbow and tries to pry me off as his other hand wedges between our stomachs and attempts to get some distance so he can get a real punch in. I keep myself tight, using my own weight to anchor his wheezing head down and against the concrete ground.

"I-I-I'm not here to h-hurt you." I hesitantly speak up, trying to talk to him a little bit before he chokes out. He hardly rasps an inaudible answer in return, his body growing a little more limp as he desperately makes some kidney shots which, if only a little stronger, would force me to let go. Thank goodness he's deciding to do the kidney shots now rather than earlier on when he would have really done some damage.

"I'm sorry for breaking your door a-and I was hoping my dogs were in here. I'll take you to a hospital I-I promise." I say, feeling his body sag. His heavy body lays more and more against mine as he begins to lose consciousness. He'll only be out for about ten minutes at best. He'll be dazed, I'm sure, but that will be enough time to give him the money I owe for breaking the door.

I wait a few moments, loosening my arm slightly before suddenly tightening it, making sure he is out completely. My cheek presses against his as I fall silent and hold my breath, listening to his light wheezing before letting go completely. I sit up and scoot out from under him, breathing a little harder as I stare at his unconscious face laying on my lap. Phew~ well, that definitely woke me up a bit. I lazily pat his head and look around the halls, still finding it void of people. Where is everyone? And before, I could have sworn I heard a voice in my head say 'look out on the ceiling'.

"Y-You did ... ," a voice hesitantly calls out. My head snaps up, spying a silver haired child poking his head out of the office door located up on the second floor. He flinches back but takes a deep breath before stepping out onto the small deck in front of his door.

"C-Come here, Avery, and I'll explain t-t-things. My older self told me to do this s-s-so bear with me." He cutely says before retreating into his office. I stare at the door before back at the unconscious man. Did the kid just not see him? Oh goodness but I can't just leave him here. I weigh my options before slipping out from under him and moving my arms under his knees and shoulders. Geh he's _heavy_! I waver to my feet and walk towards the office, being careful not to knock the man's head into anything. A shiver crawls up my spine as I step onto the deck, moving aside so I can open the door. I feel awful for hurting him b-but he will be fine. I only choked him out and he's still breathing alright. I lean against the railing and push the handle down with my foot before wedging my foot into the door to open it.

My heart leaps into my mouth as his hand suddenly grips my arm, his topaz eyes rolling open to searing hatred deeply imbedded within his bright irises. Oh, my gosh he looks mad!

"You b****-!" He starts as my foot whips the door open in shock. Oh no wait he's going to hit his head! I spin towards the door, trying to get his head out of the way but the hunk of metal lined wood smacks right against his temple, making him slightly convulse in an attempt to remain conscious before falling utterly limp once more.

"SO SORRY!" I scream, mortified as I already begin to see a lump forming on his head.

"K-K-Kid! Do you have ice?!" I demand, feeling my heart flutter anxiously for the man. Oh my gosh that hit his temple! What if he's dead?! I know he would have been fine because of the way I choked him out b-but I hit his head really hard against the door-!

"Eeek! W-Why would you bring him _here_?!" He nearly shrieks before ducking underneath the table to hide. "Nooooo get him away from meee~!"

"W-What? H-Hey, calm down." I reason before taking a step towards him.

"NOOOOO! Don't come any closer with him-!" He cries, sounding mortified before letting out a soft cry. W-What's wrong? Why is he so scared of this man?

"C-Can you at least-," I start but a soft whining cry comes from the desk in response. Oh gosh I didn't scare him, did I? I hesitate to leave. I can't let this man suffer for that long. He needs ice on that bump as soon as possible. Oh gosh I really hope I didn't kill some of his brain cells or something!

"I-I'm so sorry for taking your time. I will leave a-as soon as I treat him." I say before heading over to the cushiony couch in the room. The little kid's no help and I feel terrible for scaring him so much but this man needs medical help right away. All I need is some ice and something to hold it in.

"No, no go away nowww~!" He comaplains, popping back up from the desk with a frightened look. "He's dangerous! And mean!"

"And he's also hurt." I shoot back, giving him a much harsher glare than I meant. Arguing with my brothers did at least something for me. If I have something I want to fight for I must be confident and stand strong. And this is somewhere that I will not budge. A shiver visibly crawls down his spine as he ducks back under the desk without another peep. My heart aches, troubled. Oh gosh and yet another person I've frightened. B-But that's alright. I can deal with him after I get this man the help he needs.

I gently lay the unconscious man on it before heading towards the bathroom where I hope medicines and other things may be at. The cabinets turn out to be empty, much to my surprise. All there is in here is toothpaste and toothbrushes. I frown at the find and move to the drawers, thankfully spying a small ice bag. Perfect. I take the bag and trot back into the room scanning for the tiny refrigerator I caught a glimpse of earlier

"I-In the corner ... ," the small voice says as I spy him shakily approaching the dark haired man.

"Thank you." I say, walking in the direction he instructed. Wait, did I ask out loud about it? I guess I did without realizing it. The small boy crouches and stares hard into the stranger's face, daringly reaching out and poking his cheek. The ice freezes my finger tips and wet the bandages around my hands as I slide the cubes into the bag and walk over to the man.

"Shoo, shoo." I brush the little boy aside and take a seat on the couch, resting the man's head on a pillow.

"He has more knives." The little boy suddenly says, staring hard at his leg. More of them? I look down at the man's thigh, spying a strap with sharp knives. He attacked me before but why? And he attacked so viciously too ... it makes me doubt that he's a normal guy. Oh, wait, and both he and the kid have eyes.

"That's because we are both Role Holders." He says, fumbling with the man's straps to get the knives off his leg. I gently sweep his hands away and smoothly slip the weapons off, handing them to the child.

"Role Holders?" I ask, patting the man's body down for more weapons. The least I can do is disarm him and then ask why he attacked me. It's a good thing the kid pointed out the weapons on his leg.

"My name isn't kid, it's Nightmare Gottscotch." He huffs, sounding insulted. "and I'm the Role Holder of this territory so you have to t-treat me with respect!" He cries, pointing an accusing finger in my direction.

"H-Huh? But I didn't call you that." I say, slipping out another four blades hidden near his ankles.

"Yes you did! In your mind!" He cries as I set the knives on the table. His eyes flash, swiping the blades up and running off towards his desk.

"W-What?! No I didn't!" I deny before realizing that I did. B-But I only thought that. H-H-How did he know?!

"Because I can read minds." He says as I hear a click near his desk. I pat the man's thighs down for more weapons, rubbing his stomach and lower back as I work my way up on his body.

"W-What? But there's no such thing." I blankly say, feeling a bulking objects under the man's armpits. Oh, I almost missed those. I part his long jacket to the side and unbutton his vest before slipping the blades from its holsters. Just how many knives can a single guy carry?

"B-But it's true! I can! I swear I can!" He cries, looking flustered at my accusation. I rub the man's shoulders and feel down the rest of his arms, finding yet another stash hidden away under his trench coat. My gosh there's so many!

"I'm s-sorry but I don't believe you." I say, setting the knives aside. Nightmare stubbornly comes and snatched up the weapons before running back to his desk and hiding them somewhere.

"Then think of something. Anything and I'll say it before you can say it." He reasonably argues. I gently lift Gray's head and sit down, resting his head on a thin pillow on my lap.

"Um, alright." I say, taking the ice bag and setting it over the man's growing bump. Ooh that looks bad ... ok, um, chicken berry butt skies down bumpy candy. Oh I feel silly doing this-

"Chicken berry butt skies down bumpy candy." He repeats immediately after. My eyes widen as I whip my head towards him, my jaw practically hitting the floor.

"You _can_ read minds! WHY?! How?!" I cry, shocked. I didn't think reading minds was possible except in m-movies and book and stuff!

"That's because I am an incubus." He proudly grins while pointing to himself. "Now, what would you like to know-eek!" He cuts off, ducking under the table as I feel the man's head slightly twitch against my hand.

"O-Oh, are you awake? S-Sorry." I immediately apologizing before stiffening up under his intense gaze. Scary ... that's a scary look. He continues to glare at me, peeling back my layers of self confidence. "H-H-H-How are you feeling?" I stammer, my voice trembling slightly. The sound of my frightened voice makes his cheek twitch, satisfied with the fear his gaze alone instills in me before frowning.

"You took my weapons." He rightfully accuses.

"Y-Yes, I did." I gulp, keeping the ice pack balanced on his head as he sits up with a small, hardly audible grunt. I hesitantly follow him up and keep the ice pack on the growing bump, unable to help but notice his edginess.

"Why did you attack me?" I ask, getting ready to strong arm him if I have to. He remains silent and slowly glances over his shoulder, staring at my bandaged hands.

"Where did you learn that fight style? I've never seen anything like it before." He admits before reaching up and holding the ice pack in place. He turns around on the couch and sits against the back, staring at the ceiling.

"Fight style? Oh," I say with a small flush, glancing off to the side. No, I don't want to say it. If I say it, i-if I say it he'll know that I'm t-trained and I ... I can't go through such prejudice again. "I-I don't have a style. I-I honestly have no idea how I was able to b-best you." I stammer and watch for his reaction. His face remains cool and neutral as he stares at the wall, gathering his thoughts together.

" ... right. How else would you have bested me if it were not a fluke?" He asks aloud but it sounds more so sarcastic.

"R-Right. Um, I'll get your kn-knives." I shakily offer before getting up and heading over towards Nightmare's desk. I round the desk, spying Nightmare trembling and curled up in a little ball. He looks up to me, desperate as he puts a finger to his lips and continues to hide. Poor boy ... I must have really, really scared him. I look around for Gray's weapons, unable to find them except for a safe. Oh no ... don't tell me he locked them in a safe?

"You _do_ know where my knives are, correct? Unless there was a little worm who hid them." He coolly says before Nightmare suddenly convulses, grabbing the nearest trashcan and heaving up blood. My eyes widen at the sight and stench of the blood, setting a horrified hand over my lips. Oh my goodness-!

"Don't think things like that!" He shouts in a loud whine towards the man's direction before heaving up some more blood.

"Oh my goodness you need help-!" I shout, picking the boy right up off his feet before dashing towards the door. He needs a hospital right now-! A flash of silver catches my eye as I slide to a stop, staring dumbfounded at the blade sticking out of the door.

"It's impolite to go snatching up my prey." He coolly says before standing to his feet and drawing out another three blades from his hips. "And you should have done a better job seraching me."

"B-But I checked those!" I argue, shocked as he turns to look at us. W-Wait, prey? I stare in shock as I imagine the poor boy dressed up in a Lolita outfit with a chain around his neck. Oh my goodness please don't tell me it's that kind of prey-!

"Pedophile?!" I cry without meaning to.

"BLARG!" Nightmare shouts, twisting in my arms and throwing up in a conveniently placed trashcan by the door. I set him on the ground and look back to the approaching man, shocked.

"I do not need his body in that way. I only need him _not breathing_ ... if you catch my drift." He coolly says as he flips a blade in his hand and walks towards Nightmare. I step right between him and the boy, frightened out of my wits. K-Kill ... he literally wants to kill a child? Why?

"K-Kill ... why would you want to kill a little boy?" I ask, unable to think of any way that this would be allowed. He's just a child! The frightening man slows his pace and stops just in front of me, raising a blade up to the side of my neck and gives a soft nudge to the side. I refuse to move, my fingers trembling as I stare the killer in the eyes. Oh my gosh this is scary~!

"Move aside," he coolly states before leaning up and muttering into my ear, "unless you too want to be slain as well?"

"BLARG!" Nightmare cries as he heaves up more blood into the trashcan. I grit my teeth and hold firm, my gaze turning sharp towards him. His topaz iris flash, excited at the sudden conviction in my eyes.

"He's ill and he's throwing up blood. Can't you see that? The poor kid probably isn't going to last much longer so why do you want to kill him now?" I honestly ask. If Nightmare, as sad as it is, will only die soon then what's the point of killing him?

"BLARG don't use that kind of logic for this argument!" Nightmare whines before hysterically coughing and hacking up blood. The man's cold eyes glance over the clearly ill boy before letting out a faint sigh.

"You're right. There is little thrill killing someone so sickly." He says, sounding disappointed before whipping his arm to the side. I jolt as it shoots through the window, making a figure in the short distance falter before sagging over. "Deals off." Gray says before kneeling down. D-Deals off? Huh? I remain stiff as he crouches down, staring at the child before patting his head. "So I will wait until you get healthier before killing you."

"T-That's hardly better!" Nightmare cries with tears sheeting over his eyes.

"Come here. you need rest." He orders, tucking Nightmare under his arm and hauled him off to the bed.

"O-Oh, so, um ... you're _not_ going to kill him?" I ask, making sure as I follow behind him and anxiously stare at Nightmare.

"I see no reason to for the moment." He coolly says before gently tossing Nightmare onto the bed. "I will be back by Afternoon. There is business to take care of." He says before leaving without another word and shutting the door behind him. I stare after him in shock, looking back to a shaken Nightmare. He turns to me, frightened out of his wits before he starts crying.

"Avery, Avery I'm so scared-! I couldn't read his thoughts just then-! Wahhhh!" He adorably cries, pulling out his hanky and shakily dabbing the tears away.

"O-Oh! D-D-Don't cry, um, don't cry-!" I try to soothe, hurrying to the bed and letting him through himself at me for a hug. I wrap my arms around him and let him sob into my shoulder. W-What do I do? I want to comfort him but I really have no idea how to.

"Hug me~!" He cries, "he was going to kill me, Avery! Kill me dead! I don't know if he's telling the truth about becoming my subordinate o-or wants me dead!" He wails, burying his face in my shoulder.

"U-Um, it's alright, Nightmare, it's alright." I softly comfort, rubbing his back in a reassuring manner.

"Don't leave. Wah~ please don't leave me with that monster!" He sobs, hiding his face from view.

"I-I won't, I won't I promise." I say, patting his back as I look around for something to distract him with. "Shh, shh it's alright." I gently say, letting the little Nightmare hug it out with me.

What in the world did I just step into?

‡

Awe~ I thought that was cute. **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~ and who thinks Jericho would be a better match? Or Gray?


	6. Chapter 6

My eyes slowly slide open, seeing darkness spinning around me in a misty and dense fog. H-Huh ... oh w-wha ... ? Am I dreaming? I sit up and lightly rub my head, trying to gather my senses together as I sleepily stare straight ahead. I blink, spying a man's sleek and rather beautiful face hardly inches away with a smile on his face and an eye patch over one of his eyes.

"Good evening, Miss Avery. My name is-,"

"GYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!" I scream at the top of my lungs and immediately lash a jab out and hit him right between the eyes.

"GACK!" He shouts, dropping to the ground as he held his nose in clearly decent amount of pain. I scramble back on my hands and knees, feeling my chest huff and puff in frightened shock as I stare at the staggering man. W-W-W-Who the heck is that?!

"T-That's what I was trying to tell you!" He cries with tears dabbing at his eyes. The stranger reached back and pulled out a familiar looking handkerchief before holding his bleeding nose with it, sniveling and trying to come to terms with his injured nose. I-I didn't hit hard enough to break it because he was so close b-but that must have hurt. His silver hair and eye patch strikes a cord in me. He looks like Nightmare. Oh, wait, could he be Nightmare's dad? So, wait, I'm having a nightmare about Nightmare's dad while envisioning what Nightmare's dad would look like?

"No, no you've got it wrong," the man says before pulling the clean handkerchief back and revealing a perfectly formed nose. He coughs into his hand, standing up tall with a huffy frown. "My name is Nightmare Gottscotch, Miss Avery. It was through my help that you were able to come here."

"W-W-Wait, _you_ put me here? B-But there was this weird black rabbit man thing that did that." I argue, standing up on my wobbly legs. "I-I ... I was walking my dogs ... my dogs and then this little kid smashed a truck a-and then turned to sand and then - oh my goodness this is too weird!" I whine with hands over my head as I crouch down and rest my forehead on my knees. This is too strange, too strange!

"Your strange is our normality, Avery, and vice versa. I hadn't meant to take you from your recurring dream but Ace and Sidney forced my hand. Scary, really scary people." His voice trills. I look up, finding him in the same position as I am in but with his back to me.

"A-Ace? The kid? A-A-And Sidney ... oh, the black rabbit thing." I say, as if remembering that he had told me his name once I had woken up in a forest of some sort.

"What an impolite thing to call me." A voice huffs, sounding aggravated by the insulting but what I think to be a very self explanatory nickname. I whip around, spying the man with low hanging black ears.

"Eek!" I squeak, slapping a hand over my lips as I dance back. "N-No! No more! I've been through enough weird today! S-Shoo, shoo bunny!" I hesitantly cry as I hop back behind the man who claimed to be Nightmare.

"What am I, some pest to be shooed away at your will?!" Sidney haughtily demands in a hard voice.

"N-No, no b-b-but-! No, why, w-why did you take me?!" I stammer, backing away as he approached me. Nightmare glanced over his shoulder before standing up and stepping between us as he locks eyes with Sidney.

"You've broken the rules intruding in my domain, Sidney."

"Away with you." Sidney snaps before pulling out a clock and shifts it into a gun. Waahhhhh nightmare, this is definitely, definitely a nightmare~! "And what choice had I? The foreigner scurried away before I could properly introduce myself and has hidden herself up Wonderland knows where."

"She's doing just fine, Sidney. I was going to explain the rules of Wonderland to her before you interrupted."

"That is no concern of mine," Sidney snaps, clearly getting to the end of his ropes before darting his eye over to me while keeping the gun fixated on Nightmare, "you, woman. Where are you hiding?"

"H-H-Hiding? I'm not hiding," I stammer, completely lost in this conversation, "I ... I just want to find my dogs."

"Forget those mangy mutts. They will be rid of soon enough here. Now, where-,"

"Don't call them that." I snap back at him, feeling my old temper start to flare up into anger. I've told him before not to call them that. Sidney's eyes flash, as if daring me to continue to talk back to him.

"Sidney, stop-," Nightmare starts before Sidney takes deadly aim at him.

_BANG BANG BANG_

"Eeeeekkkk!" I cry, watching Nightmare flail in the air and dodge the bullets before stiffening up with clear terror.

"You be silent and let me speak with her. My fuse is lit and short." He curtly growls before drawing his gun back and sliding his piercing eyes back in my direction. "It is what they are. You've been awfully rude forcing me to run all through town in search of you. Again I say, where are you hiding, foreigner?" He asks in a voice that hardly makes it a question. I look up to Nightmare, making sure he's alright before fixating my eyes on the danger that's before me. He tried to shoot an innocent bystander.

"Avery, don't-," Nightmare starts before Sidney shuts him up with a side glare.

_Avery, don't antagonize him. The Prime Minister of Diamond is no one to try and overpower_. Nightmare's voice rings in my head. I ignore the words in my mind and size up the shorter rabbit, trying to decide what to do first. He's so haughty and acts like he's on top of the world. Which would be fine but he's using it to intimidate others and that's simply not right.

"I'm at the Train Station right now." I say, looking him right in his mismatched eyes. That's right, come and find me bunny man thing. If you have a bone to pick with me then so be it.

But the moment you involve bystanders you will not walk away from me so easily.

"I will be by promptly to pick you up. You will be staying at Diamond Castle for the duration of your stay." He curtly says before vanishing into thin air. I blink, startled before looking around.

"H-How, what? Invisible?" I ask, walking to the spot he was just at and feel around the area. How did he disappear like that? Oh man if he can turn invisible at will then I'm in trouble.

"No vanish, but left. He interrupted me just when I was starting to look cool." Nightmare huffs.

"Left?" I ask, looking back up to Nightmare.

"Yes. normally Role Holders cannot enter the dream realm but he must have found something that temporarily overrides my blocking to seek you out." Nightmare says before heavily sighing, "what a troublesome guy."

"Role Holders?" I ask, curious about the name. "What's a Role Holder?" A smile spreads across his face as he takes my hand and kisses my knuckle. A streak of blushing red slaps across my cheeks as he looks up to me with a surprisingly endearing eye.

"Just sit back and listen and I shall explain Wonderland to you."

My eyes pop open as I jolt with a start, feeling my heart stutter before resuming its natural rhythm. Light barely filter past the dark curtains in the room and practically leave me in the dark. A bed ... have I actually woken up now? I look down and spy child Nightmare cuddling up to me, fast asleep. So ... this is the same Nightmare, but just younger. I find that hard to believe and I'm dead set that this little Nightmare is the older one's kid. I mean, how is it possible to have a younger and then older version of the same man?

I jump as the curtains suddenly fly open, bathing the entire room in a near blinding light. My eyes squint as I turn partway over, spying a near black figure near the window and heading towards us. After a moment of adjusting, I recognize Gray walking up to us.

"Wake up, Master Nightmare. It is time for you to get ready for the day." Gray says with little sympathy about blinding us both in the morning light.

"Nngh ... ," Nightmare grumbles, snuggling closer and trying to hide his face from the sun's reach.

"Master Nightmare, _now_." Gray orders with a harsher voice.

"Give him a few minutes to wake up, Gray." I say, gently stroking Nightmare's hair to help gently wake him up rather than abruptly. He shouldn't be so rough with him because he's only a kid.

"Are you trying to interrupt my job?" Gray crossly asks.

"Your job isn't to be so rough with him." I say in a polite tone, patting the top of Nightmare's head before sitting up. I'm glad Nightmare in my dream told me his name while explaining Wonderland. So many strange rules ... I feel like over half of what he said flew over my head.

"Mnnghh ... ," Nightmare huffs, turning over in the bed and trying to savor the last few moments of sleep.

"Time to get up, Nightmare." I smile and pat his head. He smiles and nuzzled closer, sliding his eye open before sitting up.

"Hrm ... morning ... ," he sleepily mutters.

"There, see Gray? It's better to wake them up gently. While they are being obedient, anyway." I tack on, remembering a few times I had to literally flip the mattress of my brother's in order to get them up.

"Do not lecture me. Master Nightmare, wake up. It's time for breakfast."

"You made breakfast?" Nightmare curiously asks as he looks past me.

"I have." Gray says before heading towards Nightmare's desk. I slip out of the bed, deciding to leave Nightmare be and go find a place to shower. I'm sure I don't smell too pretty right now and I need to go find my dogs as soon as I can.

"There's a room on the first floor down the hall and to the left you may use." Nightmare says before his face turns green. I follow his line of sight, noticing strange lumps moving in the soup Gray is holding up for him.

Oh that poor boy.

"Thank you, Nightmare." I quickly say with a smile before leaving. Sorry, Nightmare but I need to go find my dogs. And then I can come help you. I-If you aren't knocked out by that strange soup, anyway.

"Gyaaaahhhh that's no edibleeeeee!" Nightmare cries.

**_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~ Awe, poor Nightmare lol getting the short end of the stick. What do you think is going to happen during the next chapter?


	7. Chapter 7

I let out a light sigh as I walk around the town, doing my best to avoid making eye contact with the strangers around me. I really need to find my dogs. And if not Jett, then at least Jaiden. Jaiden is old and going senile so who knows the trouble he could get into.

"Hierr!" I call, feeling the stranger's uneasy and puzzled gazes directed on my back. I-I shouldn't care what they think. B-But so many people are s-s-staring a-and ... she nervously gulps, running a hand through her hair as her cheeks darken in embarrassment. I was the one who lost them and I need to find them as soon as I can.

"Hierr, Jaiden, Jett!" I cry, hearing the faint trill in my voice. S-Stop, stop I need to stop thinking about it.

Listen to that strange voice.

What language is that?

Why is she shouting in a public area?

Why is she doing that?

Why is she so loud?

Why?

Why?

**W**_h_**Y**_?_

"Hey, who are you calling a 'her'?" A voice calls out. I look over towards the voice, craning my head down at a hooded crouching figure looking up at me. He stood up, pulling off some dirt covered gloves and tossing them onto the flower bed he was working on.

"H-Her? N-N-No, I was s-saying hierr." I sheepishly correct, taking a step back from the man. Oh ... no, boy. He's much younger than I am.

"No, you calling me womanly?" He demands, getting a little huffy as he stands directly between me and the flowerbed, puffing himself up like a pigeon to make himself look bigger. Is ... this a joke? Oh, wait, I caught him doing some 'unmanly' so he's trying to defend his reputation. I-I should say something nice and compliment him.

"U-Um, n-n-no, not at all." I sheepishly say, hands up in a surrendering motion but in a position I can defend and make a fast counter if necessary. "T-Those are some beautiful daffodils you have there." His head darts back, looking at his work before whipping back around, grinding his teeth.

"T-That's enough. Get out of here." He growls, tensing his shoulders under his hood and trying to look bigger as he tries to menacingly approach me.

" ... do not size me up, sir." I politely say, standing tall and looking down to him. "I did not say anything insulting. Your flowers are really beautiful a-and I want to buy some." I stammer, looking over the flowers inside and outside of the flower shop. The concept of a customer shuts him up as he thinks it over. After a moment of mulling over it he slumps over, turning towards the entrance to guide me inside.

"In a pot or wrapped?"

"U-Um, pot please."

"You'll have wrapped." He corrects, looking over the flowers with an experience twisting about on his face.

"O-Ok." I quietly say, looking around at all the beautiful flowers. So beautiful ... I've tried to get into gardening before but I believe I was too rough with them. The stems broke when I tried to gently readjust them and I didn't have the heart to plant more flowers knowing I would more than likely strangle the poor things. The boy takes out an apron and pops it around his shoulders, pulling out a pair of curved cutters.

He lets out a deep sigh, glaring up at me with intense concentration. I stiffen up, suddenly nervous as I look off to the side. N-No, I need to be polite. I force my eyes back to his face, staring into the empty space where his eyes would be if they were there. He hardly moves, becoming like a statue as he studies my every movement, analyzing it to their finest detail.

"Got it." He says out of the blue, heading to the back of the shop. I nervously trot after him, walking past the gorgeous array of vegetation. The flowers, large and small, are arranged in sections of color all over the small shop. My gaze wanders all around, not paying attention as I bump into the young man.

"S-Sorry!" I quickly apologize, jumping back as my heart stutters in beat. He stands up, ignoring my apology and heads towards the front counter. He gently props the cut flowers on its side, ringing them up and flipping out a little card.

"$18.58." He curtly states as he scribbles onto the little card.

"R-Right." I stammer, pulling out my wallet and taking out a twenty. He sticks the card into the flowers and takes the bill, about to set it in the register before taking another look at the money. "I-Is something wrong?" I ask, taking another look at the bill. I handed him the right amount. He stares at it for a little longer before sticking it under the counter and handing me the flowers.

"Take them and get out." He flatly states, handing the flowers to me.

"O-Oh, um, my change?" I ask, watching as he locks the register.

"That's my tip." He claims, walking to the back of the store.

"Tip, r-right, ok?" I say, watching as the steps into the back and shuts the door. Um ... I want my change ... but then again I-I shouldn't make a scene over that little bit. I'll let it go. I shuffle the flowers into one arm, heading out the door with the beautiful bouquet. I pause as the card flutters out of the bouquet and onto the ground. I pluck it off the ground and tuck it into my back pocket, looking around as I try to think of where my dogs might be. Maybe at a park? No, I doubt it. They would more than likely be around other people.

"Jaiden, Jett, heirr!" I call, my voice getting hoarse from shouting too much. Ugh ... how long have I been out today? It feels like I've been walking around and searching for nearly half a day. The dog whistle rolls around in my palm as I blow on it, adjusting the frequency every now and then. When either Jett or Jaiden hears this they will come running. Since they haven't come running yet they are either out of ear shot or ... no, no I don't want to think about that.

My stomach viciously growls as I pass a few venders selling some amazingly smelling delicious food. Oh goodness that smells good ... I pull out my wallet and shuffle everything else into one arm, hopping in line and looking over the menus. Oh goodness I can feel myself drooling.

"Good Afternoon, darlin'. What can I get ya?" He asks with a friendly tone, waving his arms over the hot dogs and soups he has available at his cart.

"U-Um, can I have a regular hot dog with mustard a-and a bottle of water?" I ask, watching as he fishes the hot dog out.

"Sure thing. $6.25." The man smiles, keeping the food out of reach until I give him the money. I slip out ten dollars, handing him the bill and eagerly waiting for the change. He takes it but pauses, flipping the bill over in his hand as his brow scrunches together in confusion. "The hell is this?"

"M-Money ... i-i-it's money." I stammer, flinching at the rage blazing over his face. W-What's wrong with it? I-It's money! It's not fake!

"This ain't no currency I accept here! Give me _real_ money." He growls, ripping the bill in half right in front of me. Gah! No! My moneyyy!

"Wait! Wait! W-Why did you rip it?!" I shout, mortified. Who goes around ripping up money?!

"This here is _fake_ money! You! Out! Get out! I don't accept no cons here, Bermuda or Dupre alike!" He angrily shouts, reaching across the counter and shoving me back into another customer.

"B-Bermuda?" I stutter, tripping over the ground as someone shoves me from behind. I fall right on top of the flowers, crushing the delicate petals under my weight. O-Oh no, I crushed the flowers! I push myself up to my knees and quickly try to salvage the remains but a sharp blow to the back of my head knocks the fake glasses right off my face. I roll onto my hands and instinctively kick towards the threat to make him back off, spying the employee leap back and barely avoid it. H-He just hit me?!

"Get lost! Your kind ain't wanted here!" He spat, bringing his fist back. My heart jerks with fear as the other customers take hesitant steps back, unwilling to come forward and stop him. I leap back, snatching my glasses up off the ground and leaving the poor crumpled flowers on the ground.

I get some distance between us, watching as he stomps on the flowers the kind boy from before gave me. W-Why ... why is this man being so cruel? I haven't done anything wrong. The blood drains from my face in sheer horror of his treatment towards me. Unable to turn my head away I watch his foot grind the flowers into the ground.

Everyone is staring.

No one is saying anything.

Everyone is watching.

No one is stepping forward.

But this ... _this is not right._

"Get out! Right now!" He spat, raising his arm in a show of dominance. I feel the emotion drain from my face as my heart hardens. This man cannot be allowed to do this. He refused my service though I paid him. I would be fine with that. But the second he raised his fist against me, a woman, smaller than him and assumingly weaker than him,

_It's on mother ..._ whoops, no bad words allowed.

"You stepped on my flowers. Get off." I order, staring at his shoulders. Hot tempered. Anger issues. Can't think through things clearly when angry. Yes, his type is too easy to beat and predict. He raised a fist to me, a woman, which indicates low morals. Basically, city scum. Though the punch was full of power it was messy and sloppily executed.

"What, these? Oh f*** off, Bermuda!" He angrily spits, grinding the sole into the flowers. The normal pangs of self consciousness that would strike me have no effect on my stiff heart as I step towards him.

"That's enough. I am a Fernandez, Avery Fernandez from Chicago. This is the last time I ask nicely. Get. Off. Those. Flowers. A nice young man gave them to me." I order, feeling anger flare up. How dare he do this to me. To anyone. This is _not_ acceptable common behavior.

"What, you gonna shoot me dead? Go ahead, you son of a b**** Bermuda!" He spits, "I ain't no coward to use a weapon-"

"But you're cowardly enough to fight a woman?" I cut in, putting my fists up. "Oh, wait, bump my knuckles." I say, holding out my fists towards him.

"Bump your- the f***, Bermuda, you screwing with me?!" He growls, getting angry as he moves to shove my shoulders back. My eyes angrily flash as I step into him, giving his jaw a strong uppercut. His head bobbles back with a powerful whiplash as I dig my fist into his gut and force him back. He grips his chin and glares at me as I kneel down, picking up the pieces of the flowers.

"You, what are you doin'? What she doin'?" He demands before asking a bystander. I pick up what pieces I could, noticing a single flower had made it through the man's angry rage. I separate the Gladiolus from the others, giving the petals a small kiss. At least one got away from his foot.

"Sorry for causing a scene, s-sir." I stammer, feeling a frightened tear fall down my cheek. I-I'm so confused ... why would no one say anything and why would he crush my flowers? I didn't do anything wrong.

"H-Hey, hey." The employee weakly barks, obviously losing confidence in his right to hit me. I listen intently, making sure he isn't going to chase after me as I walk away. Forget it. I ... what should I do? I didn't want to fight him and I fought him. My gosh ... why am I so wishy washy? But, h-he learned his lesson, I'm sure, and I need to go find my dogs.

I weakly blow into the whistle, heading back to the Train Station. Ugh, I'm just exhausted at this point and I haven't seen either of my dogs. With each long exhale I blow into the dog whistle, praying that either Jaiden or Jett will hear it and come up running. My heart stutters as I hear paws scampering across a hard surface. Jaiden, Jett-?! I whip around, spying a tiny, dirt clad dog trot up to me. Oh ... it's a ... what kind of dog is that?

"Are you hurt?" I ask, getting to my knees as the friendly dog trots right up to me. Oh~ the dog is limping a little bit. Oh, girl, definitely a girl. She cheerfully licks my finger, her tail wagging as she leans up against my leg. Cute~

"Are you lost?" I ask aloud, slipping my hand up under the little dog's belly and chest. She lets me pick her up, offering another friendly lick right under my chin. So cute. I tap her nose with my finger, noticing how dry it is. She's dehydrated and dirty. The least I can do is clean her up and give her some water.

"It's alright, little girl, I got you." I smile, gently cradling her and heading to the Train Station. My fingers comb through her fur, feeling for a collar under her long dirty fur. She doesn't have a collar on. Is she a stray then? I look around the area, searching for an owner who could be looking for her. No one seems to be looking for her. Awe ... poor girl. I'll just take her home and clean her up a bit. I smile at the thought, tempted to give her a kiss on the forehead but have second thoughts. Yuck ... a kiss _after_ the bath, definitely.

Awe poor Avery :( well, next chapter should be fun. **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~! :D


	8. Chapter 8

"And~ there. You like that?" I smile, pulling back to reveal a big pink bow around the frisky little dog's neck. So cute~! The little fru fru dog happily pants, wagging her tail back and forth with the happiest look on her face. My fingers brush through her completely clean fur, watching as she paces back and forth under my hand before sitting and leaning against my leg.

I wonder how long this little dog has been on her own for? The fur covers it but she's fairly boney and malnourished. That's what it looks like but she has such a plump belly. I pat her head and move my fingers to her belly, feeling the skin make bumps and defined divots. What the? Did she eat something bad? Or maybe she's pregnant? The thought sends a small shiver down my spine as I tap her hot dry nose again. She's sick and she's pregnant. That's not good.

My fingers curl around the empty bowl as I stand up, heading over to the sink in the bathroom. The little Pomeranian hugs my leg, energetically hopping and moving around as I fill it up with more water. While I was walking around I was able to find a few useful stores and one of them was a vet's clinic. But I doubt they'll be open while it's Night out. Before I set the bowl on the ground the thirsty mother to be lapped at the bowl and eagerly drank as much as her little belly could hold.

While I wait I should go to sleep. I've walked all day and they won't be open at this time. I checked out the times on the door while I was walking by, thinking it will be useful to know where the vet is. The times were Dawn to Dusk. As I yawn the dark Night suddenly shudders to brightness, ruining the mid yawn. Oh ... it's Dawn. I glance over the happy dog as she trots into the room, sniffing the air.

I want to go to sleep but if I wait much longer something might happen to her future puppies. My eyes watch the little prima donna trot around the room and explore her new environment. Y-Yeah, I need to take her.

"Come on little lady, let's take you to the vet." I call, softly scooping her up. I'm glad I cleaned her up before taking her to the vet. It's easier to examine a clean dog rather than a little dog. I glance over to the counter, making sure the little flower's vase was filled with water. I'm glad it seems to be taking to the vase alright. I'm sad I had to throw the others away but, I still have the one.

I trot out of the Train Station with the doggy in arms, searching for the vet's office. Let's see ... if I remember right it was somewhere around here. The little dog gently licks my chin as I pass by the shops, passing pet supply stores and bakeries with pet goodies too. I wonder if this entire street is dedicated to pets? Or, maybe this is all there is in the town and the owners decided to cluster them all together?

My eyes pass over a sign with a dog and a cat on it with a needle and bandage on either side of them. I-It looks like this is the place. I shuffle the dog into an arm and open the door on loose hinges, listening to the light chime of a bell.

"Welcome~," a faceless woman welcomes with a tired yawn, "and how may I help you today?" She smiles, looking over the fluffy dog in my hands. Ah~ perhaps I should have trimmed her fur while I was at it. The poor girl is so shaggy!

"S-She's pregnant and she needs her shots." I say, watching as the woman lets out a sigh.

"Oh I don't see the reason to bother with it but, it's how the doctor and I make a living." She sighs, turning and poking her head down the hall.

"There's a young lady here with a pregnant dog!" She shouts, her voice reverberating down the old halls.

"Send her down to the first room to the left!" A loud voice trills back. The woman turns her gaze to me with a lazy smile and gestures towards the door.

"First room to the left dear."

"S-So she'll be fine?" I stammer, nervously watching as he reads over his notes from his examination.

"Perfectly so, my dear. She will need lots of rest and proper food since she was so malnourished but a time change or two here and I'll be sure to have her up and healthy." He promises, feeling her belly once again. "I'll have to say ... let's see, one, two ... three. There are three little ones in there." He chuckles, letting the dog go. The little lady shakes herself out before sitting down, happily panting as she looks around the room.

"U-Um, thank you so much. Please accept this. I-It's all I have." I say, taking out my wallet.

"Oh no, you don't have to. She's a stray so I will not take any." He says with a light chuckle, stopping short as I shove a combination of $1s to $20s equally about three hundred dollars. I'm glad I went to the bank before coming here. "O-Oh, well-,"

"Please, sir, I insist. I know how hard it is being a vet and how expensive treatments and such are." I say, holding it out for him still.

"Well, Miss, this is not any currency I am familiar with. It's worthless," he says, looking at the bills before pulling out money of his own. "This is the currency here."

"W-Worthless?" I stammer, taking the bill and comparing it to my own. Oh my goodness so that's why that man got so angry. He thought I was trying to pull one over on him but I thought I was paying him with money that, well, counted. "S-Sorry." I say, tucking the worthless bills away. But, wait, why would that hooded man take the money? Did he ... give me the flowers for free then? I should go and thank him when I get the chance.

"No need to apologize. Just be careful when pulling the wool over someone else though." He grins, gently petting the happy little lady on the head. "Now, off you go. Come back in two time changes to come and pick her up."

"A-Alright, thank you." I stammer, running my hand over the card in the back of my pants. I think I'll go there now and thank him. I wonder if I can work the flowers off for him? I turn and leave out the front door, nearly tripping over a speckled colored dog. The medium sized dog dashed out of the way, whipping behind an alley. Oh? I wonder if that's the vet's dog?

I leave the door cracked and head towards the flower shop, blowing on the whistle the whole time. I'm so worried about Jaiden and Jett ... but my goodness am I tired. No, no I will go and talk to the flower boy first and then ... and then walk around a little more. I can handle it.

"Hey~ you're that same woman from before." Someone calls out from within a group of about five men. I look over, catching sight of the man in a hoodie. Oh, that's the same gentleman as before. I'll bet it's his day off. "You were pretty rude to me earlier." He says, walking up to me with a disappointed frown. "And it looks to me you've lost your way."

"Not really." I say, calculating how fast he could move at the distance he is at. Being outnumbered is never a good position to be in. I back up towards the sidewalk, keeping my eyes moving and making sure the coast is clear behind me. Living in Chicago makes one learn very quickly where not to be and at what time and it looks like this is one of them.

"Ya sure?" He asks, sounding a little cheeky. Hm ... this man is acting rather creepy but I can already tell they are just some punks. Not really bad but not really good guys. It's amazing how much someone's personality changes when with friends.

"Have you seen a dog with eyes? Thin, lean and growls a good deal?" I ask, taking my stand against them. No one is sneaking up on me and they are not making any sketchy advances. But, still, times like this make me happy about my training. Whereas most girls would feel fright I only feel ... well, not excitement but not fear either.

"A dog with eyes? Yours?" He asks, taken off guard a bit by the information.

"Doesn't matter. Have you seen one?" I ask. I don't want to scare them but I don't want them to think I'm shaking in my boots like a little bi- oops, naughty word.

"Maybe I have, but maybe I haven't. You'll have to play with me to get the answer." He chuckles, tapping his groin. I follow his hand, watching the motion with practiced eyes before sighing. My brothers warned me this would eventually happen.

"Well, surprisingly, you wouldn't be the first." I note, sounding bored. And here goes my pride as a fighter. I hold out my hands, making him stop short for a moment. "Tap my knuckles if you wish to proceed."

"Knuckles? Huh ... kinky, I guess?" He uncomfortably says, shifting on his feet. He stares at my knuckles, wetting his lips with a nervous lick. His fingers tremble as he taps my knuckles, quickly pulling his hands back with an uneasy shift of the legs. Nervous, uneasy, pulled into peer pressure. Yeah this will be easy.

"Now pull your pants down." I flatly order, tapping my knuckles together. This isn't the first time. Once my brother 'lost' a ball and panicked and, since I was the only one home, I had to help the poor idiot find it so this sort of thing doesn't bother me.

"W-Wait, what? Really?" He stammers, face going completely red.

"Whoa~ who knew foreigners were so forward." One of the stringier guys of the group uneasily says, shrinking back. The nice flower shop hooded figure, obviously edged on by peer pressure, hesitantly unbuckles his pants and lets his pants drop to his ankles.

"Whoa! Y-You're really going through with it?" One of the thicker friends stammers, startled at his decision. The hooded boy remains quiet, staring at my slender fingers with a deeper blush. Good, now he can't kick.

"Hey, a deals a deal." He shrugged, looking cool from behind I'm sure but looking like he's about to piss his boxers in front of me. I get their type. They aren't bad kids, they're just trying to look cool. I get that. But, that doesn't mean I'm not going to discipline them. I'm going to do to them exactly what my grandfather would have done to my brothers if he found out they were doing any of this.

"Against the wall." I say, walking towards him with a confident stride. He jolts and backs up, pressing up against a brick wall. He visibly tries to keep his cool in check but his face cracks as I gather his wrists in my hand and hold them over his head.

"Eh?" He asks as I slam his hands against the back of the wall. "Ow-!" He shouts, ending in a short, startled high pitched squeal as I cup his jewels and threaten to crush them within my grasp. Can't kick, can't punch, can't move and can only talk. "W-What are you doing you crazy b****-OWWWWOWOWOW!" He cries as I tighten my grip.

"I only wanted to know if you had seen a dog with eyes yet you try to take advantage of a clearly lost woman who needs help? That's hardly manly. It's cowardly and pathetic. That is nothing a woman looks for in a man." I callously say, tightening my grip.

"S-S-STOP STOP! You're going to pluck them right off!" He frantically cries, his legs trembling as I hold firm.

"In the future, please keep in mind that you should treat a woman like a lady and not a hooker, alright?" I softly say, making sure the message is clear in his mind, "you never know who is out there and whoever you decide to pick a fight with next could very well be your last." I warn, lightening my grip on his tenders but holding his hands over his head firm through his feeble resisting. That's interesting, he's earnestly not trying to hurt me despite the hold I have.

A soft smile tugs my cheek up. I knew he wasn't a bad kid. I lean forward, giving him a small peck on the cheek. I pull back, noticing his wide and frightened eyes from being up so close. I _knew_ they had eyes. I just need to look really close.

"You see? I knew you weren't a bad kiddo." I smile as I let him go. He hastily yanks his pants up and buckles himself up, stumbling back with a wider stance than usual.

"W-What the hell b-b-b-bi-bi-!" He stammers, unable to utter a curse word towards me.

"I'm s-sorry, I really am. But it's the truth." I say, sheepishly holding my hand up and making a tight fist with it. A shiver visibly shoots down his spine as he hides behind his equally startled friends. Ah~ I should have realized they were probably too young to do that. They look about, how old now, fifteen, maybe sixteen? Ew, now I feel like a child molester. Yuck.

"W-What do you want?" One of the bigger guys stammers before straightening his spine, trying to size me up. A kick to his thigh is plenty to take him down. Aim for the nerves, take out the legs of the giant mother fu- no, no a lady mustn't think bad words.

"I just want to know where my dog is. He's lost and I'm worried about him. If you happen to find him please come by the Train Station and let me go. I'll appreciate it." I smile, not wanting to attack any of them without reason.

"W-What the hell makes you think we are going to do that?" One demands, sounding rattled by the sudden rough molesting I just committed.

"You're good kids and I would appreciate your help. Thank you, a-and have a good day." I smile, waving as I turn to leave. What nice kids. I feel bad I had to resort to that but I think they've learned their lesson. None of them says a word as I trot into the street with a deep blush on my face. Ah~ I didn't mean to scar any of them for life. But, I did what had to be done. If I wasn't the one to warn them then they could have gotten killed by someone else who doesn't appreciate their cheekiness.

I mindlessly walk around for hours, continuing on through the sudden shifts of time changes. I carefully take care not to pass the same place twice, making the mistake of passing by the same vender as only a few time changes ago. Thankfully he only casted me a stink eye, unsure and uneasy as I passed by. I'm happy he didn't resort to any other confrontations.

I run a tired hand through my hair, continuing to sharply exhale into the dog whistle while taking breaks to call out for them. Jaiden ... Jett ... where could they possibly be? I've searched everywhere and if they were in town then I would have run into them at this point. My heart slowly crumbles as I trudge forward, the aching in my feet and legs beginning to wear me down to an exhausting point. I'm so tired ... I haven't slept for who knows how long at this point.

Just a little rest. Just a little bit. I slump over to a bench and heavily plop onto the wooden structure, leaning my head back and continually blow on the whistle. So tired ... but goodness, I need to go find my dogs for goodness sake! I heavily blow on the whistle, shutting my eyes for a few moments.

"See? I told you, Julius. This is the foreigner right here." A warped voice proclaims as a soft pressure pokes my side. My eyes sleepily crack open, barely taking in a short brunette with bright red eyes. Urn ... too tired. My head cranes back as I feel my heavy eyelids shut, succumbing to sweet sleep.

JULIUS'S POV

So Jericho was right. There _is_ a foreigner here. I had my doubts but here she is right in front of me. Ace pouts, continuing to poke her side before patting her cheek.

"Is she dead?" He asks, bored. "So weak." My eyes narrow as I smack him upside the head, trying to teach him some manners. "Ow!"

"No no, continue because she's going to wake up if you poke her enough." I sarcastically huff, brushing him off to the side. She's going to freeze out here in the Night. Her head limply hangs back as I lift her up, a slim silver object slipping out of her lips and onto the ground.

"What's this?" Ace asks, picking up the long silver whistle. He twists it in the air and brushes it off, trying to figure it out. I pointedly ignore him and head towards the Art Museum. Jericho would know how to take better care of her than I would. And be willing to. I gently shuffle her amazingly long body in my arms, trying to rest her head comfortably on her shoulder.

"Oh, it's a whistle!" He excitedly cries before putting it to his lips and giving a sharp, hard blow. I brace for the loud high pitched squeal of the rather annoying toy but no sound comes out. "Awe, it's broken!"

"Thank goodness." I huff, still trying to right her body in my arms. My goodness what a troublesome woman and she's not even awake. A high pitches whine catches my attention as something skitters and drags over the ground. I half turn, finding a four legged figure limping towards us. And what would this be? Ace's eyes glide back as he turns, keeping a tight grip on his blade. The hobbling dog slips under the street post lamp and reveals two gleaming eyes in his head. My eyes widen as the bandaged dog pants and wheezes small whines, hopping towards us while keeping his left paw off the ground.

"Ooh~! That's one of her doggies!" Ace says, hopping over to the canine and patting him on the head.

"He's injured." I state, watching him trot past Ace and come right up to me. His eyes gleam as he looks up to Avery, standing up on his hind legs to get a better look at her. He drops back to his paws for a moment before trying again, balancing for a few moments and giving her cheek a small lick before shuffling in place for balance.

"Doggie~," Ace hums, petting and rubbing the dog's head, taking care not to knock his hand against the plastic cone around his head.

"Come on. It's not safe being out in Night." I state, trying to ignore the shadows lurking in the allies. I can only hope that they are Jericho's gravediggers who have been keeping watch on her. Ace mentioned somewhere in his useless babbling that he noticed some gravediggers following her around. But I don't know for sure if it is them or not. I let out a small sigh.

Such a troublesome woman.

JERICHO'S POV

"And you're telling me Jaiden managed to slip out of a locked room, somehow get passed your watchful eye, and vanished without a trace?" I summarize, pinching the bridge of my nose. This isn't good. I was hoping to get on her good side and now I doubt she'll ever want anything to do with me. Wonderland is dangerous and foreigners rare to nonexistant.

"W-We apologize for our incompetence." A gravedigger apologies as they both bow before my desk.

"Very well. Get out." I heavily sigh, running a hand through my hair. That old dog won't survive for long out in the open especially at Night. Who knows who will notice the old dog walking about town. Good hell I know countless faceless that might just use the dog for shooting practice. I drop my head against the desk, thumping my forehead against the desk.

"S***." I growl, tilting my head to the side as someone knocks at my door.

"Master Monrey has come for a visit, along with Master Ace." The worker announces through the door. This late at Night? Something must be wrong.

"Send them in." I call, righting my tie and sitting up straight. It is very unusual for Monrey to be out at Night like this so it must be important. The door swings open as the guard holds it for them. My eyes widen as I spy a young woman with visible closed eyes, awkwardly shuffled in his arms.

"Take her, take her now." He says, his arms shaking as he struggles to keep her righted in his arms. I quickly circle the desk and take her in mine, surprised by her heavy weight. Julius lets out a relieved sigh, letting his arms hang to rest. How long was he carrying her for? My head pops up as I spy Jaiden trot into the room, followed by a grinning Ace chasing after him.

"What in the world happened?" I worriedly demand, using the utmost gentle care while laying her down on my bed. My fingers brush over neck, feeling her pulse throbbing strong. She doesn't seem to be injured.

"We found her passed out on a bench in the middle of the Night. I did not want to lead the troublemakers to my home and they dispersed by the time we neared the Graveyard." Julius sighs, rubbing his obviously sore arms.

"That is just fine. And the dog?" I ask, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice. I had him in my care and I let him get hurt. I need to take responsibility for that. The German Shepherd limps over to the bed, sniffing the air for a moment before jumping up onto the bed with her. He circled the bed a few times before laying down at the corner of the bed.

"He came up to us shortly after we found Avery." Julius answers as Ace reaches across the sleeping woman to pet the dog. I lightly bop him on the head, making him jolt before dragging him over towards the door.

"Don't bother a young lady while she's sleeping." I gently scold, standing between him and the woman.

"That's not very kind hitting a young boy. That's abuse of power." He pouts as he glares up at me.

"And I will use it as I please in my own territory." I gently retort, flicking him on the forehead.

"Now that she's here I'm leaving. I have other things to do." Julius sighs as he rubs his head.

"You are free to stay the Night here but if you insist I will have you escorted back to your home." I offer, sweeping a finger over her forehead. She's out cold.

"Thank you for the offer." Julius says, "but it is unneeded. I will be back for the next exhibition."

"To the which I will give a personal tour." I promise with a smile, watching him leave.

"That's good, Julius, because I'm strong enough for any enemy." Ace cheerfully grins as he follows the weary man out the door. The moment they are out of sight I cradle Avery's face, feeling her cold skin on mine. She feels awfully cold. How long was she outside for? A very faint groan slips out of her throat as she tosses her head to the side, seeming uncomfortable.

My eyes travel over Jaiden, wondering for a brief moment why he was lying so far away from her. A folded piece of paper tucked into Jaiden's collar catches my attention. What is this? I reach over the sleeping woman, fishing the paper out and flipping it open.

_Subject: Jaiden_

_Owner: Avery_

_Injuries: bullet through body cavity and slash across front left leg. _

_Recovery: Time and lots of water and vitamins. Time to take to recovery, unknown._

Seems to be a note the vet put on him. He has an awful memory so I'm sure he sticks a summary on all of his patients. I flick the paper a few times in thought before shuffling her into my arms and pulling the covers back. She needs to warm up if she wants to sleep comfortably.

"Hn ... mhn," she murmurs, craning her head back. I chuckle and set her under the covers, leaning in to kiss her forehead. Hard knuckles catch the bottom of my chin and whip my head back. I stumble away from her, shocked as I stare at her outstretched fist.

"Hmnrh no shtealing mah cookie ... ," she mutters, rolling onto her side. Ah~ so she's a hitter in her sleep, huh? I'll keep that in mind next time. I rub my aching chin and head towards the door, deciding to rest in a guest room rather than the couch. I don't want her to freak out seeing me in the morning.

"NO!" She suddenly shouts, making me jump. She woke up? I whipped around and watch her sitting up in the bed with uncoordinated eyes before falling right back into the pillows.

... pfffft

I deeply chuckle under my breath, heading out the door before she does something to make me laugh louder. I've just met her and she's already has me this entertained. It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out.

Alright so what are your thoughts on this chapter? What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter? **_10 REVIEWS_** for the next chapter~


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